How Pantomime Works: Implications for Theories of Language Origin

Brown, Steven; Mittermaier, Emma; Kher, Tanishka; Arnold, Paul

doi:10.3389/fcomm.2019.00009

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…[43,53–56]) to define the characteristics of pantomime, including the properties of primary iconicity and self-sufficiency: a dominant use of primary iconicity [57], where the similarity between the gesture and what it represents is largely sufficient for establishing the reference;a dominant use of whole-body movements, rather than hands-only movements [40];a dominant use of the first-person perspective, which consists in the explicit or implicit mapping of the whole body onto the represented object (even if only a part of the body is foregrounded [58]) 9 ;a dominant use of the enacting mode of representation, with the body of the gesturer mapping onto the (human) body of the referent [56];a dominant use of gestures standing for objects and actions in peripersonal space, i.e. the space immediately surrounding one's own body [59]. …”

Section: First Signs: Mimetic and Primary-iconicmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pantomimic fossils in modern human communication

Żywiczyński

Wacewicz

Lister

2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Bodily mimesis, the capacity to use the body representationally, was one of the key innovations that allowed early humans to go beyond the ‘baseline’ of generalized ape communication and cognition. We argue that the original human-specific communication afforded by bodily mimesis was based on signs that involve three entities: an expression that represents an object (i.e. communicated content) for an interpreter . We further propose that the core component of this communication, pantomime, was able to transmit referential information that was not limited to select semantic domains or the ‘here-and-now’, by means of motivated—most importantly iconic—signs. Pressures for expressivity and economy then led to conventionalization of signs and a growth of linguistic characteristics: semiotic systematicity and combinatorial expression. Despite these developments, both naturalistic and experimental data suggest that the system of pantomime did not disappear and is actively used by modern humans. Its contemporary manifestations, or pantomimic fossils , emerge when language cannot be used, for instance when people do not share a common language, or in situations where the use of (spoken) language is difficult, impossible or forbidden. Under such circumstances, people bootstrap communication by means of pantomime and, when these circumstances persist, newly emergent pantomimic communication becomes increasingly language-like. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Reconstructing prehistoric languages’.

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Section: First Signs: Mimetic and Primary-iconicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…a dominant use of gestures standing for objects and actions in peripersonal space, i.e. the space immediately surrounding one's own body [59].…”

Section: First Signs: Mimetic and Primary-iconicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pantomimic fossils in modern human communication

Żywiczyński

Wacewicz

Lister

2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…Some of these models adopt a general view of pantomime (e.g. [50,52]), which is considered as a form of iconic gesturing (for a discussion [53]). Here, we refer to a more specific conception in line with the definitions advanced by Żywiczyński et al .…”

Section: Persuasion Narrative and Pantomimic Communication In Archaic Homininsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persuasive conversation as a new form of communication inHomo sapiens

Ferretti

Adornetti

2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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The aim of this paper is twofold: to propose that conversation is the distinctive feature of Homo sapiens ' communication; and to show that the emergence of modern language is tied to the transition from pantomime to verbal and grammatically complex forms of narrative. It is suggested that (animal and human) communication is a form of persuasion and that storytelling was the best tool developed by humans to convince others. In the early stage of communication, archaic hominins used forms of pantomimic storytelling to persuade others. Although pantomime is a powerful tool for persuasive communication , it is proposed that it is not an effective tool for persuasive conversation : conversation is characterized by a form of reciprocal persuasion among peers; instead, pantomime has a mainly asymmetrical character. The selective pressure towards persuasive reciprocity of the conversational level is the evolutionary reason that allowed the transition from pantomime to grammatically complex codes in H. sapiens , which favoured the evolution of speech. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Reconstructing prehistoric languages’.

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“…Some studies suggest that the emergence of language could have been preceded by a stage of pantomimic communication (Corballis, 2003(Corballis, , 2009Brown et al, 2019). Surprisingly, the production of pantomime and language relies on only partially distinct neural systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling Pantomime From Early Sign in a New Sign Language: Window Into Language Evolution Research

et al. 2021

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In this study, we aim to disentangle pantomime from early signs in a newly-born sign language: Sao Tome and Principe Sign Language. Our results show that within 2 years of their first contact with one another, a community of 100 participants interacting everyday was able to build a shared language. The growth of linguistic systematicity, which included a decrease in use of pantomime, reduction of the amplitude of signs and an increase in articulation economy, showcases a learning, and social interaction process that constitutes a continuum and not a cut-off system. The human cognitive system is endowed with mechanisms for symbolization that allow the process of arbitrariness to unfold and the expansion of linguistic complexity. Our study helps to clarify the role of pantomime in a new sign language and how this role might be linked with language itself, showing implications for language evolution research.

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How Pantomime Works: Implications for Theories of Language Origin

Cited by 20 publications

References 72 publications

Pantomimic fossils in modern human communication

Pantomimic fossils in modern human communication

Persuasive conversation as a new form of communication inHomo sapiens

Disentangling Pantomime From Early Sign in a New Sign Language: Window Into Language Evolution Research

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