Journal
PSYCHONOMIC BULLETIN & REVIEW
Volume 24, Issue 1, Pages 225-231Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.3758/s13423-016-1077-7
Keywords
Language; Teaching; Evolution
Categories
Funding
- John Templeton Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
I introduce seven criteria for determining the validity of competing theories for the original function of language. I go on to present a novel explanation that meets all the criteria: language originally evolved to teach kin. I suggest that the use of symbols subsequently generated evolutionary feedback at two levels, in the form of self-modified selection pressures that favored structures in the mind that functioned to manipulate and use symbols with efficiency, and cultural selection on languages for learnability.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available