The Interational Instinct

Nam-Hee, Lee; Mikesell, Lisa; Joaquin, Anna Dina L.; Mates, Andrea W.; Schumann, John H.

doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195384246.001.0001

Cited by 55 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Everything we know about the origin and evolution of language suggests that it arose for communicative purposes (Lee et al, 2009). Language doesn't exist apart from agentive users.…”

Section: Henry Widdowson (University Of Vienna Austria)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex dynamic systems theory: A webinar with Diane Larsen-Freeman

Larsen‐Freeman

2022

Lang. Teach.

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The following is an edited transcript of a webinar that took place on 11 June 2022 between Diane Larsen-Freeman and seven colleagues (in alphabetical order: Anne Burns, Hossein Farhady, Mathias Schulze, Scott Thornbury, Benjamin White, Henry Widdowson, and Yasin Yazdi-Amirkhiz), who generously took the time to formulate and submit questions in advance of the webinar and to participate in the event. The focus of the webinar was on Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST). Coincidentally, the webinar took place on the 25th anniversary of Larsen-Freeman's first publication on the same theme (Larsen-Freeman, 1997).

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“…Everything we know about the origin and evolution of language suggests that it arose for communicative purposes (Lee et al, 2009). Language doesn't exist apart from agentive users.…”

Section: Henry Widdowson (University Of Vienna Austria)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex dynamic systems theory: A webinar with Diane Larsen-Freeman

Larsen‐Freeman

2022

Lang. Teach.

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“…For example, the theory of “interactional instinct” suggests that, in language acquisition as in language evolution, children signal their intention to do something, and “The intent becomes a symbol that the child expresses in an emotionally based interaction…” (Lee and Schumann, 2005, p. 7; Lee et al, 2009). In related proposals, constellations of mental skills including “shared intentionality,” “perspective-taking,” “comprehension” (etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Structural Effects of Modality on the Rise of Symbolic Language: A Rebuttal of Evolutionary Accounts and a Laboratory Demonstration

2018

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Why does symbolic communication in humans develop primarily in an oral medium, and how do theories of language origin explain this? Non-human primates, despite their ability to learn and use symbolic signs, do not develop symbols as in oral language. This partly owes to the lack of a direct cortico-motoneuron control of vocalizations in these species compared to humans. Yet such modality-related factors that can impinge on the rise of symbolic language are interpreted differently in two types of evolutionary storylines. (1) Some theories posit that symbolic language originated in a gestural modality, as in “sign languages.” However, this overlooks work on emerging sign and spoken languages showing that gestures and speech shape signs differently. (2) In modality-dependent theories, some emphasize the role of iconic sounds, though these lack the efficiency of arbitrary symbols. Other theorists suggest that ontogenesis serves to identify human-specific mechanisms underlying an evolutionary shift from pitch varying to orally modulated vocalizations (babble). This shift creates numerous oral features that can support efficient symbolic associations. We illustrate this principle using a sound-picture association task with 40 learners who hear words in an unfamiliar language (Mandarin) with and without a filtering of oral features. Symbolic associations arise more rapidly and accurately for sounds containing oral features compared to sounds bearing only pitch features, an effect also reported in experiments with infants. The results imply that, beyond a competence to learn and use symbols, the rise of symbolic language rests on the types of signs that a modality of expression affords.

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The Role of Culture in the Emergence of Language

Everett

2015

The Handbook of Language Emergence

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The Interational Instinct

Cited by 55 publications

References 0 publications

Complex dynamic systems theory: A webinar with Diane Larsen-Freeman

Complex dynamic systems theory: A webinar with Diane Larsen-Freeman

The Structural Effects of Modality on the Rise of Symbolic Language: A Rebuttal of Evolutionary Accounts and a Laboratory Demonstration

The Role of Culture in the Emergence of Language

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