Origins of Human Communication

1. Human Communication Relies on a Foundation Beyond Language

What we call meaning must be connected with the primitive language of gestures.

Beyond the Code. Human communication is not solely about language; it heavily relies on non-linguistic elements like shared experiences and intentions. Even with a complex code, successful communication requires a foundation of mutual understanding and shared context.

Limitations of Language-Centric View. Focusing solely on language overlooks the crucial role of non-verbal cues and shared knowledge. Consider:

• Expressions like "it," "she," or "they" require contextual understanding.
• Conversational exchanges often rely on unspoken assumptions and inferences.

The Primacy of Uncoded Communication. To understand the origins of human communication, we must first examine unconventionalized, uncoded forms like natural gestures. These gestures, though simple, reveal the underlying infrastructure that makes complex communication possible.

2. Intentionality Distinguishes Human and Animal Communication

Listeners acquire information from signalers who do not, in the human sense, intend to provide it.

Communicative Displays vs. Signals. Biologists define communication broadly, including unintentional displays. However, psychological communication requires intentional signals, where the communicator aims to influence the recipient.

The Communicator's Role. The key distinction lies in the communicator's intent. While recipients gather information from various sources, intentional communication involves a deliberate effort to influence the recipient's behavior or mental state.

Intentional Signals in Primates. Intentional signals are rare in the animal kingdom, possibly confined to primates or even great apes. These signals are often learned and used flexibly, adjusted for particular social goals and circumstances.

3. Shared Intentionality Underpins Cooperative Communication

[Shared] intentionality presupposes a background sense of the other as a candidate for cooperative agency . . . [which] is a necessary condition of all collective behavior and hence all conversation.

Beyond Individual Intentionality. Human communication is uniquely cooperative, built on a foundation of shared intentionality. This involves understanding others as cooperative agents and engaging in joint activities with shared goals.

Components of Shared Intentionality:

• Cognitive skills for creating joint intentions and attention
• Social motivations for helping and sharing

Shared Intentionality in Action. Shared intentionality is evident in collaborative activities, from simple tasks like taking a walk together to complex endeavors like constructing a tool jointly. This "we" intentionality shapes the structure and motivation of human communication.

4. Pointing and Pantomiming: The Primordial Gestures

There is an act of “directing attention to the size of people” or to their actions. . . . This shows how it was possible for the general concept of meaning to come about.

Two Basic Types of Human Gesture:

• Deictic gestures (pointing): Direct attention to something in the immediate environment
• Iconic gestures (pantomiming): Simulate an action, relation, or object to direct the recipient's imagination

From Referential to Social Intention. These gestures are intended to induce the recipient to infer the communicator's social intention. The recipient must discern why the communicator is directing attention or imagination in a particular way.

Pointing as a Foundation. Pointing, in particular, is a fundamental human gesture that embodies the complexities of cooperative communication. Its simplicity belies the rich social-cognitive processes involved.

5. Common Ground is Essential for Interpreting Gestures

What we call meaning must be connected with the primitive language of gestures.

Context is Key. The meaning of a gesture is not inherent in the gesture itself but is heavily dependent on context. However, "context" for humans means something very special.

Common Ground Defined. For humans, the communicative context is what is "relevant" to the social interaction, that is, what each participant sees as relevant and knows that the other sees as relevant as well. This shared, intersubjective context is what we may call common ground.

Types of Common Ground:

• Immediate perceptual environment (joint attention) vs. shared experiences from the past
• Top-down (shared goals) vs. bottom-up (shared sensory experiences)
• Generalized cultural knowledge vs. overtly acknowledged knowledge

6. Cooperative Motives Drive Human Communication

[Shared] intentionality presupposes a background sense of the other as a candidate for cooperative agency . . . [which] is a necessary condition of all collective behavior and hence all conversation.

Beyond Individualistic Motives. Human communication is driven by cooperative motives, including helping and sharing. This contrasts with the more individualistic motives seen in animal communication.

Three Basic Communicative Motives:

• Requesting: Getting others to do what one wants them to
• Informing: Helping others by providing useful information
• Sharing: Connecting with others by sharing emotions and attitudes

The Communicative Intention. Communicators signal their intention to communicate, indicating that they have a request, information, or attitude to share. This signal prompts the recipient to make relevance inferences and understand the communicator's social intention.

7. From Gestures to Language: A Gradual Transition

Language did not emerge from some kind of ratiocination.

Language as a Code. Conventional languages are codes, but linguistic communication relies heavily on uncoded communication and mental attunement. Establishing an explicit code requires some preexisting form of communication that is at least as rich as that code.

The Role of Natural Gestures. Human communication could not have originated with a code. Rather, it must have begun with unconventionalized, uncoded communication, and other forms of mental attunement, as foundational.

Pointing and Pantomiming. Excellent candidates for this role are humans’ natural gestures such as pointing and pantomiming. These gestures are simple and natural, but still they are used to communicate in very powerful, species-unique ways.

8. Grammar Emerges from Functional Needs

What we call meaning must be connected with the primitive language of gestures.

The Grammatical Dimension. The purpose for which one communicates determines how much and what kind of information needs to be "in" the communicative signal, and therefore, in a very general way, what kind of grammatical structuring is needed.

Three Levels of Grammatical Complexity:

• Simple syntax (grammar of requesting): Limited syntactic marking, focused on immediate needs
• Serious syntax (grammar of informing): Devices for marking participant roles and speech act functions
• Fancy syntax (grammar of sharing and narrative): Complex devices for relating events and tracking participants across time

Cultural-Historical Processes. These grammatical conventions are shaped by cultural-historical processes, with different linguistic communities developing unique ways of meeting functional demands.

9. Cultural Transmission Shapes Linguistic Diversity

What we call meaning must be connected with the primitive language of gestures.

The Role of Cultural Transmission. Human languages are not static entities but are constantly evolving through cultural transmission. This process involves both the inheritance of existing conventions and the creation of new ones.

Language Change Mechanisms:

• Automatization: Speakers reduce and simplify frequently used expressions
• Reanalysis: New learners reinterpret existing constructions, leading to grammatical shifts
• Analogy: Patterns spread to new contexts, creating new forms

The Dialectic of Evolution and Culture. The evolution of human communication involves a complex interplay between biological predispositions and cultural-historical processes. While our capacity for language is rooted in our biology, the specific forms and structures of languages are shaped by cultural transmission.

Last updated: March 8, 2025