Building blocks of language

Articulate language is a form of communication unique to humans. Over time, a spectrum of researchers has proposed various frameworks attempting to explain the evolutionary acquisition of this distinctive human attribute, some deploring the apparent lack of direct evidence elucidating the phenomenon...

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Autores principales:	Chris Jones, Juri van den Heever
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	AF EN NL
Publicado:	AOSIS 2021
Materias:	language social and vocal grooming gossip laughter singing primate vocalisation speech bonding The Bible BS1-2970 Practical Theology BV1-5099
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/a61a9d77d20c4fb39e79b1cf1eb7fe69
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:a61a9d77d20c4fb39e79b1cf1eb7fe69
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:a61a9d77d20c4fb39e79b1cf1eb7fe692021-11-24T07:40:40ZBuilding blocks of language0259-94222072-805010.4102/hts.v77i3.6895https://doaj.org/article/a61a9d77d20c4fb39e79b1cf1eb7fe692021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/6895https://doaj.org/toc/0259-9422https://doaj.org/toc/2072-8050Articulate language is a form of communication unique to humans. Over time, a spectrum of researchers has proposed various frameworks attempting to explain the evolutionary acquisition of this distinctive human attribute, some deploring the apparent lack of direct evidence elucidating the phenomenon, whilst others have pointed to the contributions of palaeoanthropology, the social brain hypothesis and the fact that even amongst contemporary humans, social group sizes reflect brain size. Theologians have traditionally (largely) ignored evolutionary insights as an explanatory paradigm for the origin of humankind. However, an increasing number are, of late, contributing to a worldview of humanity which accommodates both the epistemological realities of evolutionary biology as well as insights from theology. This includes reviewing and assessing the origins of articulate language and the physiological attributes necessary for its development. It is in this sense that the evolution of language is relevant from a theological perspective. The association between mental capacity and articulate language, already noted by Darwin, is relevant in explaining the larger group sizes found amongst humans, as is the incipient role played by the evolution of laughter in triggering the neuroendocrine system promoting bonding, to the eventual development of articulate language. Our aim is to review a selection of contemporary perspectives on the evolution of language, amongst others, reasons for the ease with which young children acquire language competency, and whether we may be hardwired for language from birth. Further reading is suggested in the footnotes. Contribution: This article is part of a special collection reflecting on the evolutionary building blocks of our past, present and future. It is based on historical thought and contemporary research with regards to the evolutionary emergence of language. It fits well with the intersectional and trans-disciplinary nature of this collection and journal.Chris JonesJuri van den HeeverAOSISarticlelanguagesocial and vocal groominggossiplaughtersingingprimate vocalisationspeechbondingThe BibleBS1-2970Practical TheologyBV1-5099AFENNLHTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies , Vol 77, Iss 3, Pp e1-e7 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	AF EN NL
topic	language social and vocal grooming gossip laughter singing primate vocalisation speech bonding The Bible BS1-2970 Practical Theology BV1-5099
spellingShingle	language social and vocal grooming gossip laughter singing primate vocalisation speech bonding The Bible BS1-2970 Practical Theology BV1-5099 Chris Jones Juri van den Heever Building blocks of language
description	Articulate language is a form of communication unique to humans. Over time, a spectrum of researchers has proposed various frameworks attempting to explain the evolutionary acquisition of this distinctive human attribute, some deploring the apparent lack of direct evidence elucidating the phenomenon, whilst others have pointed to the contributions of palaeoanthropology, the social brain hypothesis and the fact that even amongst contemporary humans, social group sizes reflect brain size. Theologians have traditionally (largely) ignored evolutionary insights as an explanatory paradigm for the origin of humankind. However, an increasing number are, of late, contributing to a worldview of humanity which accommodates both the epistemological realities of evolutionary biology as well as insights from theology. This includes reviewing and assessing the origins of articulate language and the physiological attributes necessary for its development. It is in this sense that the evolution of language is relevant from a theological perspective. The association between mental capacity and articulate language, already noted by Darwin, is relevant in explaining the larger group sizes found amongst humans, as is the incipient role played by the evolution of laughter in triggering the neuroendocrine system promoting bonding, to the eventual development of articulate language. Our aim is to review a selection of contemporary perspectives on the evolution of language, amongst others, reasons for the ease with which young children acquire language competency, and whether we may be hardwired for language from birth. Further reading is suggested in the footnotes. Contribution: This article is part of a special collection reflecting on the evolutionary building blocks of our past, present and future. It is based on historical thought and contemporary research with regards to the evolutionary emergence of language. It fits well with the intersectional and trans-disciplinary nature of this collection and journal.
format	article
author	Chris Jones Juri van den Heever
author_facet	Chris Jones Juri van den Heever
author_sort	Chris Jones
title	Building blocks of language
title_short	Building blocks of language
title_full	Building blocks of language
title_fullStr	Building blocks of language
title_full_unstemmed	Building blocks of language
title_sort	building blocks of language
publisher	AOSIS
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/a61a9d77d20c4fb39e79b1cf1eb7fe69
work_keys_str_mv	AT chrisjones buildingblocksoflanguage AT jurivandenheever buildingblocksoflanguage
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Building blocks of language

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