The Evolution of Language from an Ecological Perspective
Instructor: Salikoko S. Mufwene,
Department of Linguistics, University of Chicago
Office: Wieboldt 411
Contact information: 773-702-8531 or [email protected]
Course description for the LSA Institute, July 2015:
The subject matter of the phylogenetic emergence of language in mankind preoccupied many
philosophers and philologists from Antiquity to the mid-19th century, when La Société de
linguistique de Paris imposed a ban on it in 1866. The ban has been ignored since the late 20 th
century. Speculations and publications have increased substantially, leading also to the
emergence of what some now call evolutionary linguistics as a research area.
This course is designed to review some of the literature critically, in order to determine,
from a historiographical perspective, what questions have been central to the subject matter of
the phylogenetic emergence of language or have recurred the most, and to what extent the
answers to these are better informed today. The class will adopt a multidisiplinary
exaptationist-ecological approach, focusing on non-linguistic and linguistic prerequisites to the
emergence of particular aspects of the architecture of language at various phases of hominine
evolution. We will examine how our hominine ancestors coopted means available to them to
develop adequate communicative technologies (aka languages).
Questions and issues we will address include the following: What is the probable time of
the emergence of modern language(s)? Should we speak of the emergence of language or of
languages, in the plural? What does the choice of the singular or plural delimitation of language
entail for accounts of the emergence of typological diversity? How do debates on the
emergence of language(s) bear on the nature and significance of Universal Grammar (aka the
“language organ” or “biological endowment for language”)? Is there any real conflict between
arguing that languages are cultural artifacts and supporting the position that humans are
biologically endowed to develop or learn them? Is language evolution separate from cultural
evolution? Does cultural evolution preclude biological endowment of any kind? What factors
explain the fact that human populations are primarily speaking rather than signing, whereas the
evidence in animal communication suggests that intentionality is associated more with gestures
than with vocalizations? Assuming that languages are (hybrid) communicative technology, are
there any reasons for expecting the architectures of signed and spoken languages to be
identical? Should one fear that assuming differences in the architectures of signed and spoken
languages suggests differences in evolutionary stages? To what extent does modality as an
ecological factor bear on the architecture of signed and spoken languages?
How does the topic of linguistic complexity fit in all this? What is linguistic complexity in
the first place? How did it arise? What is the most adequate or productive way to discuss it?
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How is it related to modularity and what evolutionary advantages has linguistic communication
gained from being modular? Did I say “modularity”? What does it mean?
Is there any (sound) justification for looking into incipient pidgins, the emergence of
Nicaraguan Sign Language and the like, communication with “linguistic apes,” and even animal
communication as windows into (stages of) the phylogenetic emergence of language? What
counts as evidence for various interpretations of the emergence of language(s) conceived of
either as gradual or as saltatory? To what extent is the evolutionary linguistics still speculative?
The above questions, which are far from exhausting the subject matter, are intertwined
and often hard to extricate from one another. This course is an introduction to the complexity
and challenging nature of the subject matter of evolutionary linguistics. Though we may not be
able answer most of questions conclusively, we will endeavor to understand what they entail
and what kind of evidence is needed to address them adequately. Students will be encouraged
to read various alternative publications on the subject matter, which should generate informed
and productive exchanges of perspectives.
To pass the course, students must write a critique of a book, major article, or set of
related articles/chapters which reflects some ways in which the course has benefited them. The
critiques should develop arguments in support of or against positions developed in the book,
article(s), and/or chapter(s). They should include references to some of the relevant literature
covered in class or read independently. Citations from class discussions are not precluded! A
comparative approach to the subject matter is very much welcome. The papers should be
written in 12 points, double-spaced, with margins not smaller than 1 inch. The length should be
10-15 pages of discussion for undergraduate students and 15-20 pages for graduate students.
Those who think they will need more space for their discussions should double-check with the
instructor beforehand. The topic of the paper must of course also be pre-approved by the
instructor. You are welcome to visit the instructor to discuss issues arising from your projects.
The papers are due by the last day of the course. Please talk to the instructor if you need more
time.
The course is obviously open to graduate and advanced undergraduate students. No
prerequisite other than some familiarity with linguistics or subjects related to the architecture
of language, or familiarity with biological or cultural evolution!
Textbooks (available at the Seminary Co-Op Bookstore):
I have used the following in the past:
Fitch, W. Tecumseh. 2010. The Evolution of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
I am also considering:
McMahon, April and Robert McMahon. 2012. Evolutionary Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge
UP.
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My final selection, applying also to other alternatives, will be made by Spring 2015! The
following recent publications are highly recommended for supplemental reading:
Arbid, Michael.2012. How the brain got language: The mirror system hypothesis. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Corballis, Michael. 2011. The Recursive Mind: The origins of human language, thought, and
civilization. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Gee, Henry. 2013. The accidental species. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Hombert, Jean-Marie & Gérard Lenclud. 2014. Comment le langage est venu à l’homme. Paris :
Fayard
Larson, Richard K.; Viviane Déprez; & Hiroko Yamakido (eds.) 2010. The Evolution of Human
Language: Biolinguistic perspectives. Cambridge: Cambride UP.
Lieberman, Philip. 2013. The unpredictable species: What makes humans unique. Princeton:
Princeton University Press.
McNeill, David. 2012. How language began: Gesture and speech in human evolution.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Some of essays of my own, which provide the skeleton of the course are accessible at my
website: http://mufwene.uchicago.edu/goodies.html