From: H.M. Hubey
Message: 304
Date: 2003-02-01
| Subject: | [evol-psych] Hand-me-down Speech |
|---|---|
| Date: | Sun, 08 Sep 2002 12:44:52 -0500 |
| From: | Ian Pitchford <ian.pitchford@...> |
| Reply-To: | Ian Pitchford <ian.pitchford@...> |
| Organization: | http://human-nature.com/ |
| To: | evolutionary-psychology@yahoogroups.com |
American Scientist HUMAN EVOLUTION Hand-me-down Speech Dario Maestripieri, Human Development and Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago From Hand to Mouth: The Origins of Language. Michael C. Corballis. xiv + 257 pp. Princeton University Press, 2002. $27.95. No one really knows where human language comes from. One possibility is that language evolved from the hand gestures of our ape and hominid ancestors and not from their vocalizations. The view promoted by Michael Corballis in From Hand to Mouth is that our ancestors used both vocalizations and hand gestures to communicate, but that-particularly after the evolution of bipedalism and an increase in brain size-gestural communication became more complex and acquired the characteristics of a language, including symbolic referents, grammar and a syntax. Eventually there was a shift from gestures to speech as the main medium for expression. One of the first to propose the gestural theory of language origins was the 18th-century French philosopher Abbé Étienne Bonnot de Condillac; it was then resurrected by the American anthropologist Gordon W. Hewes in the 1970s. Corballis expands the theory and integrates many research findings from disciplines such as paleoanthropology, primatology, linguistics, developmental psychology and neuroscience. Full text http://www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/Leads02/02-09Tfromhand.html From Hand to Mouth: The Origins of Language Michael C. Corballis Hardcover - 384 pages (May 2002) Princeton Univ Pr; ISBN: 0691088039 AMAZON - US http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0691088039/darwinanddarwini/ AMAZON - UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0691088039/humannaturecom/ It is often said that speech is what distinguishes us from other animals. But are we all talk? What if language was bequeathed to us not by word of mouth, but as a hand-me-down? The notion that language evolved not from animal cries but from manual and facial gestures--that, for most of human history, actions have spoken louder than words--has been around since Condillac. But never before has anyone developed a full-fledged theory of how, why, and with what effects language evolved from a gestural system to the spoken word. Marshaling far-flung evidence from anthropology, animal behavior, neurology, molecular biology, anatomy, linguistics, and evolutionary psychology, Michael Corballis makes the case that language developed, with the emergence of Homo sapiens, from primate gestures to a true signed language, complete with grammar and syntax and at best punctuated with grunts and other vocalizations. While vocal utterance played an increasingly important complementary role, autonomous speech did not appear until about 50,000 years ago--much later than generally believed. Bringing in significant new evidence to bolster what has been a minority view, Corballis goes beyond earlier supporters of a gestural theory by suggesting why speech eventually (but not completely!) supplanted gesture. He then uses this milestone to account for the artistic explosion and demographic triumph of the particular group of Homo sapiens from whom we are descended. And he asserts that speech, like written language, was a cultural invention and not a biological fait accompli. Writing with wit and eloquence, Corballis makes nimble reference to literature, mythology, natural history, sports, and contemporary politics as he explains in fascinating detail what we now know about such varied subjects as early hominid evolution, modern signed languages, and the causes of left-handedness. From Hand to Mouth will have scholars and laymen alike talking--and sometimes gesturing--for years to come. Michael C. Corballis is Professor of Psychology and a member of the Research Center for Cognitive Science at the University of Auckland. He is the author of three books, including The Lopsided Ape, and coeditor of The Descent of Mind. His work has appeared in Science, Nature, Scientific American, and American Scientist. Endorsements: "A lively and well constructed read that bravely tackles head-on the tough question of where language came from. Corballis intriguingly concludes that this unique human property has gestural rather than vocal origins; and along the way he explores numerous fascinating byways that make this a must read for everyone interested in how humans became the extraordinary creatures they are."--Ian Tattersall, American Museum of Natural History, author ofExtinct Humans and The Fossil Trail "Michael Corballis has accomplished a Herculean task. Reviewing and synthesizing data from a range of disciplines, he has woven it all into a book that is at once enjoyable and easy to read and yet faithful to the complexity of the subject matter. While this is admittedly a provocative work, the author has marshaled considerable evidence in support of his thesis. Indeed, he has done all of us a great service by raising the level of discussion surrounding this controversial topic. This is no small accomplishment."--Sherman Wilcox, University of New Mexico, General Editor, Evolution of Communication "A fascinating journey along the evolutionary path that 'converted us from wild gesticulators to smooth talkers.' On the path we pass our ape-like ancestors, the change to bipedalism, increase in brain size, gestures, the anatomical requirements for vocalization, and finally the spoken language."--Lewis Wolpert, University College London __________ Unsubscribe or change your subscription options at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evolutionary-psychology/ Archive: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evolutionary-psychology/messages/ Join Evolutionary Psychology: evolutionary-psychology-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Human Nature Review: http://human-nature.com/ Human Nature Daily Review http://human-nature.com/nibbs/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
-- M. Hubey -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o The only difference between humans and machines is that humans can be created by unskilled labor. Arthur C. Clarke /\/\/\/\//\/\/\/\/\/\/ http://www.csam.montclair.edu/~hubey