Rethinking the language bottleneck: Why don't animals learn to communicate?
| Abstract | While most work on the evolution of language has been centered on the evolution of syntax, my focus in this paper is instead on more basic features that separate human communication from the systems of communication used by other animals. In particular, I argue that human language is the only existing system of learned arbitrary reference. While innate communication systems are, by definition, directly transmitted genetically, the transmission of a learned learned systems must be indirect. Learners must acquire the system by being exposed its the use in the community. Although it is reasonable that a learner has access to the utterances that are produced, it is less clear how accessible the meaning is that the utterance is intended to convey. This particularly problematic if the system of communication is symbolic -- where form and meaning are linked in a purely conventional way. Given this, I propose that the ability to transmit a learned symbolic system of communication from one generation to the next represents a key milestone in the evolution of language. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,672 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Only published papers are available at libraries |
Similar books and articlesMichael A. Arbib (2001). Co-Evolution of Human Consciousness and Language. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 929:195-220.
Emmanuel Gilissen (2005). Imitation Systems, Monkey Vocalization, and the Human Language. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 28 (2):133-134.
Raymond Tallis (2010). Michelangelo's Finger: An Exploration of Everyday Transcendence. Yale University Press.
Peter Ludlow (2006). The Myth of Human Language. Croatian Journal of Philosophy 6 (3):385-400.
Peter Ludlow (2006). The Myth of Human Language. Croatian Journal of Philosophy 6 (3):385-400.
Stephen R. L. Clark (2000). The Evolution of Language: Truth and Lies. Philosophy 75 (3):401-421.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads9 ( #114,014 of 549,065 )Recent downloads (6 months)2 ( #37,252 of 549,065 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
