Origin and Evolution of Languages - Approaches, Models, Paradigms - Bernard Laks
Conceptualization, communication, and the origins of grammar
Origin and Evolution of Languages - Approaches, Models, Paradigms - Bernard Laks
Frederick J. Newmeyer
University of Washington, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University
Description
The purpose of this paper is to defend the position that the evolutionary roots of grammar lie in conceptual structure. Pre-humans possessed a rich conceptual structure representing predicates and their accompanying arguments. I postulate that the evolutionary ‘event’ that underlies human language was the forging of a link between conceptual structures and the vocal output channel — in other words, the beginnings of grammar per se.