How Language Began

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How Language Began Page 37

by Daniel L. Everett


  as crucial to languages 9, 204, 230, 237

  the gesture continuum 234, 235

  homesigns 229, 244–5, 247–8

  and Homo erectus languages 62, 239

  integration with grammar 7

  and language interpretation 5, 199, 201, 203*, 212

  and language origins 234, 236

  language-slotted gestures 235, 241–2

  in oratory 233

  as preceding speech 234, 240*, 241–2

  as replacing speech 231

  scope and types 234

  sign languages as stabilised gestures 241–3

  spontaneous emergence 229

  synchrony with speech 236, 238–9, 241`

  Gibson, Edward 164

  gifts and reciprocity 264

  Gil, David 128*

  glaciations 53–4

  glial cells 132, 144, 158

  glottalised sounds 178–80, 183

  glottis in speech production 178–9

  glottochronology 272

  Goldin-Meadow, Susan 229, 243*, 244–5

  Goldstein, Kurt xv

  Goodall, Jane 37

  gorillas 6, 19, 24, 37, 285

  Koko 105, 221, 225*

  Gould, Stephen Jay 70

  Grabowski, Mark 127

  grammar

  alternative strategies 215, 218, 225–6

  complex grammars as unnecessary 10, 16, 66, 69

  filtering meaning 61–2

  necessarily preceded by symbols 83

  not central to language 105

  not exclusive to humans 83

  probable origin 213, 219, 240

  in sign progression theory 7

  view of language as 68–9

  Grammar Came First hypothesis 78–80

  Grammar Came Last hypothesis 77–8

  Grammar Came Later hypothesis 79

  grammars

  Chomsky’s classification 218

  complexity levels (G1-G3) 18, 149, 292

  hierarchical grammars 80, 105

  known to native speakers 78

  similarities between languages 83

  slots and fillers 204

  universal grammar idea 6, 202, 205*

  vertical and horizontal organisation 203–4, 204, 206

  grammars of society 284–5

  Grandlin, Temple 76

  great apes

  cognition and communication 42

  as hominids 6, 26

  see also chimpanzees; gorillas; orang-utans

  ‘great leap forward’ theory 112

  Great Rift Valley 36–7, 57*

  Greek language 219–20

  Greenberg, Joseph 271

  Grice, Paul 251–4, 256, 260, 262, 290

  Griffin, Richard 165

  grooming behaviour 169

  group identification

  and ‘dark matter’ 287–9

  and language evolution 210

  social groups 210

  growth points 236, 237

  gut length 38, 40, 120

  H

  Hale, Sheila (and John) 163*

  hand movements 152, 229, 232, 235, 238, 240

  see also gestures

  harmonic frequencies/formants 184–7

  Harris, Marvin 288

  Harris, Zellig 227

  Hauser, Marc 152–3, 224*

  Hebrew language 7, 217

  Herculano-Houzel, Suzana 126

  heritability of SLI 162–3

  hierarchical grammars 80, 105, 207, 218

  hierarchical knowledge structures 283

  hierarchies

  in homesigning 245

  phonological 210–11, 212

  in phrase structures 246

  of sonority 205*

  in syllable structures 209

  hieroglyphic writing 100, 103

  highlighting techniques 7, 199, 203, 212–13, 229, 232–3, 235–40

  Hinduism 288

  hippocampus 156

  histones 22*, 28, 140

  historical linguistics 271–3

  Hixkaryana language 219

  ‘Hobbits’ (Homo floresiensis) 129–30

  Hockett, Charles 204

  Holloway, Fred 114–16

  Holloway, Ralph 158

  holophrastic utterances 211–12, 227, 239–40

  homesigns 229, 244–5, 247–8

  hominids

  distinguished from hominins 6, 25–6

  Pleistocene evolution 54

  hominin species 5, 41

  hominins

  brain development 111–12, 114–16

  brain volumes 38, 46, 115

  distinguished from hominids 6, 26

  evolution 37–8, 42

  Homo erectus

  brain volume 116, 118, 130

  cognitive abilities 60–1, 72, 114, 118, 130

  compared to H. sapiens 116

  cooking and diet 40, 51, 56

  culture, as evidence for language 4

  culture, evidence of 56, 60, 290

  and the Erfoud manuport 91, 92, 99

  invention and use of symbols 60, 62, 106, 149

  larynx type and hyoid bone 186–7

  likely appearance 53

  likely social roles 285–6

  likely speech ability 186–8, 258

  migration out of Africa 30, 48–9, 52, 57–8, 72

  possible vestiges of language 202

  probable possession of language xv, 10, 54, 60–1, 64, 106, 187, 225, 292

  seafaring skills 59–60, 118

  shell-carvings 86, 94–5, 95

  tool use and technology 54, 59, 96–8, 118

  uniqueness in its time 48–9, 52

  use of gestures 62, 239

  villages and settlements 56–7, 61, 63

  Homo ergaster 19, 53–4

  Homo floresiensis (‘Hobbits’) 129–30

  Homo genus

  brain sizes 46

  interpretation abilities 256

  language as distinct to 18, 50, 225

  migrations 48–9

  Old World origins 25, 63

  species compared xvi, 53, 114

  Homo habilis 19, 22, 24, 37, 53, 96

  Homo heidelbergensis 53, 92, 94, 112

  Homo neanderthalensis

  brain case volumes 38

  hyoid bone 117

  origins 112

  possession of language 149, 152, 207–8, 225

  Homo rudolfensis 53

  Homo sapiens

  brain size 111–12

  debt to Homo erectus 292

  migration from Africa 46, 111, 113, 271

  reproductive peculiarities 114

  structure-dependent rules 228

  success and ubiquity 15, 112

  see also anatomically modern humans

  homophones 75

  horizontal organisation

  grammars 203–4

  syllables 206

  horseflies 44

  The Human Advantage…, by Suzana Herculano-Houzel 126

  human body, absence of language specific organs 88

  human origins 6, 35, 46–7

  The Human Vocal Tract…, by Edmund S. Crelin 176*

  Hume, David 20–1

  hunter-gatherer groups

  as anarchic 113

  discussion 51

  obligation to migrate 48–9

  possession of language 9

  relevance to Homo erectus 64, 286

  hyoid bone 117, 186–7

  I

  I-languages 76

  Ice Ages 53–4

  iconic art 86, 90, 99

  icons

  and language evolution 91

  preceding symbols 7, 65, 90, 100–1, 103

  in sign progression theory 7, 16, 86–7

  use by other animals 225

  illocutionary acts/effects 257–8

  imagination, appearance of 50, 60

  imitation as a cultural force 281

  implicatures, conversational 252, 254, 260

  indefinite article, indi
cating new knowledge 288

  ‘independent assortment’ principle 27

  indexes

  and cultural identification 277

  as natural signs 16, 84–5

  preceding icons 7, 16*, 65

  in sign progression theory 6–7, 16, 84

  use by other animals 225

  ‘indexical’ markers 87, 102

  Indians, North American see Native Americans

  indirect speech acts 258, 265

  Indo-European language 271–2

  Indonesia 48–9, 58–61, 63, 128–30

  Riau language 105, 151*, 221–2

  infants, ability to feed and breathe 191

  ‘infinite semiosis’ 104

  inflectional languages 216

  the information age’ 197

  information quantity 253–4

  information structure, shared and new knowledge 201, 246

  information transfer rate 208

  Ingram, John 128

  ingressive sounds 177, 180

  innateness claims 83, 130, 136, 139, 141, 160–1, 243, 248

  innovation

  rate of 120

  as a social pressure 281

  spread of 213

  ‘innovation gap’ 98

  instinct v, xv, 83, 106, 121, 141, 244, 289

  intelligence

  attempted localisation in the brain 154

  and brain size 129–30

  and cooperation 131

  language dependence on 42, 111

  and social complexity 130–1

  intentionality

  absent from indexes 84–5

  behind manuports 90–1

  gestures 230

  as a language prerequisite 86, 240–1, 277

  in symbol development 83–4, 103

  tool making and shell carving 93–5

  The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) 179, 180

  interpretants

  as the crucial part of a symbol 18, 88

  as themselves symbols 104

  in tool use 93

  intonation

  essential to language 204, 239

  highlighting new information 229–30

  integration with grammar 7

  and language interpretation xvii, 5, 33, 62, 117, 176, 184, 192–3, 201

  and pitch control 184

  production by the larynx 176

  invention

  role in language evolution 18, 171

  speech as 176

  IPA (The International Phonetic Alphabet) 179, 180

  isolating languages 215, 217

  Italian use of gestures 232–3

  J

  Jackendoff, Ray 151*

  Jaeger, Andreas 270

  Java shell-carvings 86, 94–5, 95

  Jewish use of gestures 232–3

  John, gospel of 1

  Jones, Sir William 269–72

  Just, Marcel Adam 122*

  K

  Karlsson, Fred 222–3

  Kashafrud site, Iran 63

  Keller, Helen 244

  Keller, Timothy A. 122*

  Kendon, Adam 234

  Kern, Barbara 151*

  Kimura, Motoo 47

  The Kingdom of Speech, by Tom Wolfe 172

  kinship relationships 101–3, 133, 286

  knives, backed 59

  knowledge structures

  built by language 15–16

  static and dynamic knowledge 230

  Koko the gorilla 105, 221, 225*

  L

  language

  conduit metaphor 260–3, 261

  held to result from a specific mutation 6, 45, 68, 70–1, 80, 148–9

  memory types required for 154–6

  as a nexus 69

  possession by Homo erectus 5–6, 60–2, 64, 106

  as a tool 287

  languages

  classified by word formation 217

  components and purpose of 15, 105

  contrasted with animal communication 7

  as a creation of culture xvii–xviii, 179, 279

  diversity of present-day languages 9

  as a driver of culture 112

  as a driver of intelligence 132

  holistic interpretation 66–7, 230, 233, 239–40

  I-languages and E-languages 76

  number of sounds and languages 189

  preceding speech 173–4

  protolanguages distinguished 61–3, 165*, 224–5

  reductionist theories 68, 201

  simple language examples 61, 65–6, 221, 256

  see also G1 etc; grammars; origins of language; sign languages

  Language: The Cultural Tool, by Dan Everett 139*, 177–8, 224*

  language deficits and disorders 121–2, 159, 171

  language evolution

  absence of specialised brain regions 82

  archaeological evidence 18, 72

  Chomsky’s views analysed 226–7

  colonial era influence 269

  conversation as its apex 262

  cooperative principle 256

  dependence on individual cultures 202, 273

  dependence on intelligence 42

  dependence on prelinguistic cognition 45

  environmental constraints 211

  and group identification 210

  platforms for 43

  role of biology 88

  role of Proto-Indo-European 270

  ‘satisficing’ principle 249

  and tool use 73, 95–9, 118

  utility explains ubiquity 242

  ‘language gap’ 7–8, 194

  ‘language gene’ idea 80, 103–4

  language-slotted gestures 235, 241–2

  language specific organs 88, 139, 152

  Larick, Roy 57*

  larynges

  descended 38

  Homo erectus and H. neanderthalensis 186

  origin 192

  in speech production 174–8, 184

  structure 177

  Leakey, Louis and family 37, 54

  left hemisphere 116, 139, 143–4, 164

  legal process 259

  Levallois tools 56, 98, 100

  Levinson, Stephen C. 104

  lexicostatistics 272

  Liberman, Mark 153

  Lieberman, Philip v, 135, 173, 190, 193, 207

  life histories, Homo genus 114

  linear grammars 218–19, 221–2

  linguistics

  branches of 15

  comparative and historical linguistics 269, 271–3

  localisation of intelligence and memory 154, 156

  locomotion 37–9

  locutionary acts/effects 257–8

  long-term memory 154–6

  see also declarative memory

  loudness variations 197–9, 205

  Lubbock, John 36

  lunate sulcus 114–15

  Lutz, Robert 43

  Luuk, Erkki and Hendrik 218*

  Lyell, Charles 70

  M

  Macoir, Joël 160

  Makapansgat manuport/pebble 86, 90, 91, 99

  Making it Explicit, by Robert Brandom 123*

  The Man Who Lost His Language, by Sheila Hale 163*

  management culture 283

  manifest destiny 277, 289

  manner, maxim of 252, 254

  manual-visual communication 189

  manuports 86, 90–1, 91–2, 99

  see also art

  Marajoara culture 72

  Margulies, Julianna 229

  material culture and evidence for language 8

  mating access 39, 41, 56

  maxims, cooperative principle 252–5, 290

  McCarthy, John 287

  McNeill, David 234, 236–40, 242

  meaning, filtered by culture and grammar 61–2

  meat eating 40, 51, 120

  meiosis 27*

  memory

  grammar as an aid 219

  impairment in language disorders 162–3

  types required for
language 154–6

  memory–expression tensions 207

  Mendel, Gregor 26–7

  Merge concept 80*, 85*, 91, 150–1, 162, 224*, 227*

  Mexico 178

  mid-sagittal crest 38, 40

  migration

  Homo erectus out of Africa 30, 48, 56–58, 72, 98

  Homo sapiens out of Africa 46, 111, 113, 271

  Miller, George A. 154–5

  Millikan, Ruth 290

  mime 234–5, 241

  mind, theory of 43, 46, 168

  mind-body dualism 157–8, 287

  mitochondrial DNA/Mitochondrial Eve 46–7

  modes, of pronunciation 180

  molecular biology and human origins 35

  molecular clocks 28, 47

  monkeys, experiments with 122, 152, 173–4

  monogamy (pair-bonding) 39, 56

  moods, in English 253

  Morgan, Thomas 27, 34, 95

  morphemes 214, 215–16, 217

  morphology

  as a branch of linguistics 15, 105, 215

  and SLI 161

  morphosyntactic hierarchy 213, 214

  Morse code 16, 189–90

  Morwood, Michael 128

  motor aphasia 164

  motor-related activities 118, 135, 138, 140, 155, 162, 194

  Mousterian tools 62

  multiregional hypothesis 46–7

  murder trial example 13–14

  muscle movement, in speech production 174–5, 181, 192–3

  mutations

  and the appearance of language 6, 45, 68, 70–1, 80, 148–9

  and the molecular clock 28, 47

  neutral variations 28, 30, 33, 47

  possible results 28, 47

  ‘syntax mutation’ example 31–3

  N

  nasopharyngeal passage 191

  Native Americans 84, 95, 216, 274–5, 277–80, 286

  natural conversation

  and learning a language 162

  as a resource 1, 3, 15

  natural selection

  for complex thinking 33

  Darwinian postulates 26

  in languages 273

  phenotypes as target 27, 30

  natural signs, indexes as 16

  navigational abilities

  in jungles 85

  by sea 59–60

  Neanderthal Man see Homo neanderthalensis

  neurodiversity 121, 166

  neuroimmune system 132, 144

  neurological disorders 121

  neuronal density/neuron numbers 126, 143–4, 158

  Neurophilosophy, by Patricia Churchland 142

  neuroplasticity 118, 122, 139

  new knowledge

  gestures highlighting 229–30

  signalling 201, 211, 288

  the ‘new synthesis’ 35*

  New York Times 232, 250–1

  New Zealand 63

  Nicaraguan Sign Language 243

  niche construction theory 170–1

  Nin, Anaïs 48

  nonconcatenative languages 216, 217

  North American indigenous peoples see Native Americans

  noses, in primate classification 25

  noun phrases 215, 248

  O

  object, position in sentences 247

  objects, children’s perception 244–5

  obsessive-compulsive disorder 193

 

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