On the origin of Grammar
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Bernd Heine
Abstract
The goals of the present chapter are twofold. On the one hand, it aims to show the potential that studies on grammaticalization offer for reconstructing earlier phases in the evolution of language or languages, that is, phases that are not within the scope of the classical methods of historical linguistics. What distinguishes grammaticalization theory from other linguistic approaches that have been recruited is that it has a diachronic foundation and that the hypotheses proposed on the basis of this theory rest, first, on regularities in linguistic change and, second, on typological generalizations across languages. Building on the reconstruction work proposed in Heine and Kuteva (2007), the chapter looks at some phenomena that were not discussed there. One of these phenomena concerns the role of “linguistic fossils” in discourse organization. The focus of the present paper is on the question of what such possible “fossils” can tell us about the structure that early human language may have had.
Abstract
The goals of the present chapter are twofold. On the one hand, it aims to show the potential that studies on grammaticalization offer for reconstructing earlier phases in the evolution of language or languages, that is, phases that are not within the scope of the classical methods of historical linguistics. What distinguishes grammaticalization theory from other linguistic approaches that have been recruited is that it has a diachronic foundation and that the hypotheses proposed on the basis of this theory rest, first, on regularities in linguistic change and, second, on typological generalizations across languages. Building on the reconstruction work proposed in Heine and Kuteva (2007), the chapter looks at some phenomena that were not discussed there. One of these phenomena concerns the role of “linguistic fossils” in discourse organization. The focus of the present paper is on the question of what such possible “fossils” can tell us about the structure that early human language may have had.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction ix
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Part 1. General perspectives and issues on language origins
- Historical, Darwinian, and current perspectives on the origin(s) of language 3
- The origin of language as seen by eighteenth-century philosophy 31
- Cognitive and social aspects of language origins 53
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Part 2. At the roots of language
- Reconstructed fossil vocal tracts and the production of speech 75
- Paleoanthropology and language 129
- Material culture and language 147
- Gestural theory of the origins of language 171
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Part 3. Communication and language origins
- Primate communication 187
- FoxP2 and vocalization 211
- Brain lateralization and the emergence of language 237
- Sensorimotor constraints and the organization of sound patterns 257
- Symbol grounding and the origin of language 279
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Part 4. Linguistic views on language origins
- Sound patterns and conceptual content of the first words 301
- Brave new words 333
- On the origin of Grammar 379
- Arbitrary signs and the emergence of language 407
- On the relevance of pidgins and creoles in the debate on the origins of language 441
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Part 5. Computational modeling of language origins
- Modeling cultural evolution 487
- How language emerges in situated embodied interactions 505
- Emergence of communication and language in evolving robots 533
- Evolving a bridge from praxis to language 555
- Index 579
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Introduction ix
-
Part 1. General perspectives and issues on language origins
- Historical, Darwinian, and current perspectives on the origin(s) of language 3
- The origin of language as seen by eighteenth-century philosophy 31
- Cognitive and social aspects of language origins 53
-
Part 2. At the roots of language
- Reconstructed fossil vocal tracts and the production of speech 75
- Paleoanthropology and language 129
- Material culture and language 147
- Gestural theory of the origins of language 171
-
Part 3. Communication and language origins
- Primate communication 187
- FoxP2 and vocalization 211
- Brain lateralization and the emergence of language 237
- Sensorimotor constraints and the organization of sound patterns 257
- Symbol grounding and the origin of language 279
-
Part 4. Linguistic views on language origins
- Sound patterns and conceptual content of the first words 301
- Brave new words 333
- On the origin of Grammar 379
- Arbitrary signs and the emergence of language 407
- On the relevance of pidgins and creoles in the debate on the origins of language 441
-
Part 5. Computational modeling of language origins
- Modeling cultural evolution 487
- How language emerges in situated embodied interactions 505
- Emergence of communication and language in evolving robots 533
- Evolving a bridge from praxis to language 555
- Index 579
