Competition and cooperation in language evolution: a comparison between communication of apes and humans

In this paper, we analyze the topic of conflict in reference to the evolution of language. Specifically, we examine two key elements involved in conflicting interactions, competition and cooperation, and show how they are involved in the evolution of linguistic skills. We discuss a model of language origins recently proposed by Tomasello (2008) according to which human language is an evolutionary product of the cognitive systems underlying cooperation among individuals in the social group. The core assumption of this model is that the aforementioned fact makes human language qualitatively different from ape communication, which is mainly individualistic because of the competitive nature of nonhuman primates. Our aim in this paper is to call such a model into question by pointing to an “altruism of knowledge” in apes by discussing some recent experimental data on chimpanzee vocal communication. This data allows us to shed light on the evolution of the cognitive mechanisms that underlie the origin of human communication and to develop a more gradualistic and continuistic model of language evolution. We conclude with some general consideration of the necessity to integrate the cooperative model of communication with a wider and more complex conception of human language and cognition

The pragmatic foundations of communication: An action-oriented model of the origin of language

In this paper we propose an action-oriented model of language origins that is compatible with the embodied perspective of mind. Specifically, we maintain that a crucial issue for the investigation of the origin of human communication is how language is grounded in the context. In support of such a proposal, we maintain that: a) the grounding of language is tied to a specific aspect of the embodied mind, namely the aspect that emphasizes the embedded character of cognition; b) the emphasis posed on this particular character fits well with a model of language origins founded on gesture. The connection of embedded cognition and the gestural model allows us to propose an explanation of language origin capable of overcoming the problems in the classical symbolic framework of cognitive sciences.  

Il ruolo della costruzione di scenari nella spiegazione dei disturbi macrolinguistici della schizofrenia

Riassunto: Al centro di questo articolo è l’analisi dei fondamenti neurocognitivi dei deficit macrolinguistici, discorsivo-narrativi nello specifico, osservabili nei pazienti affetti da schizofrenia. Tale analisi è condotta in riferimento alle ricerche svolte negli ultimi decenni nell’ambito della psicolinguistica e delle neuroscienze. I risultati di queste ricerche hanno mostrato che alcuni aspetti dei disturbi macroelaborativi che caratterizzano il profilo linguistico dei pazienti schizofrenici possono essere spiegati chiamando in causa i deficit di tre sistemi cognitivi: teoria della mente, funzioni esecutive, memoria semantica. In questo articolo si sostiene che un tale quadro esplicativo vada integrato attraverso il riferimento a un ulteriore processo cognitivo cruciale per l’elaborazione macrolinguistica: la costruzione di scenari. Tale processo è fondamentale per la comprensione e produzione discorsiva in quanto responsabile della costruzione della rappresentazione globale degli eventi del discorso narrativo. Alla luce di queste considerazioni, in questo lavoro si propone che un ruolo cruciale nella spiegazione di alcuni aspetti dei disturbi macrolinguistici nella schizofrenia sia svolto da una compromissione nel processo di costruzione di scenari mentali e si avanza l’ipotesi che tale compromissione sia determinata, a sua volta, da problematiche che agiscono sul piano del funzionamento delle aree cerebrali preposte alla percezione e all’assemblaggio multimodale delle rappresentazioni sensomotorie.Parole chiave: Abilità macrolinguistiche; Costruzione di scenari; Elaborazione discorsiva: Embodied Cognition; Narrazione; Schizofrenia; Percezione; Modelli mentaliThe role scenario building in the explanation of macrolinguistic disorders in schizophreniaAbstract: This article analyzes the neurocognitive foundations of macrolinguistic deficits, specifically narrative, observable in patients with schizophrenia. This analysis is conducted with reference to the investigations carried out in recent decades in the field of psycholinguistics and neuroscience. The results of these investigations showed that some aspects of macrolinguistic deficits of schizophrenics can be explained in terms of impairments of three cognitive systems: theory of mind, executive functions, and semantic memory. In this article, it is suggested that this explanatory framework has to be integrated with the reference to a further cognitive process: scenarios construction. Such process turns out to be critical for discourse comprehension and production as it is responsible for the building of the global representation of events of a narrative. In the light of these considerations, it is claimed that a crucial role in the explanation of some aspects of macrolinguistic disorders in schizophrenia is played by an impairment in the process of constructing mental scenarios. The hypothesis is that this impairment is, in turn, determined by problems affecting the brain areas responsible for the perception and multimodal assembly of sensorimotor representations.Keywords: Discourse Processing; Embodied Cognition; Macrolinguistic Skills; Scenario Building; Narrative; Schizophrenia; Perception; Mental Model

Processing Narrative Coherence: Towards a top-down model of discourse.

Models of discourse and narration elaborated within the classical compositional framework have been characterized as bottom-up models, according to which discourse analysis proceeds incrementally, from phrase and sentence local meaning to discourse global meaning. In this paper we will argue against these models. Assuming as a case study the issue of discourse coherence, we suggest that the assessment of coherence is a top-down process, in which the construction of a situational interpretation at the global meaning level guides local meaning analysis. In support of our hypothesis, we explore the role of executive functions (brain functions involved in planning and organization of goal-oriented behaviors) in coherence’s establishment, discussing the results of several studies on narrative abilities of patients with brain injuries. We suggest that, compared to other models of discourse processing focused on comprehension, our model is a viable candidate for an integrated account of discourse comprehension and production

How Did Language Evolve? Biological, Psychological, and Linguistic Perspectives

The topic of language origin and evolution has been consideredfor a long time as a difficult question to address scientifically because of poverty of empirical data and limitations in methodology (Müller, 1861). These considerations have led to the well-known edicts by the Société de Linguistique de Paris in 1866 and the Philological Society of Londonin 1872 that forbade all members from presenting speeches on the topic

Comprehending stories in pantomime. A pilot study with typically developing children and its implications for the narrative origin of language

This paper presents a pilot study aimed at investigating the comprehension of pantomimic stories and its possible cognitive underpinnings in typically developing children. A group of twenty-two Italian-speaking children aged between 8.02 and 10.11 years were included in the study. Participants watched short videos in which professional actors performed pantomime narratives; then answered a comprehension question and retold the stories. Analyses revealed positive correlations between the comprehension of pantomimes and age, theory of mind, and working memory. The implications of these results for a narrative model of language origin are discussed against the background of an eco-evo-devo perspective

Pantolang: A synthetic cognitive-semiotic approach to language origins

We present an ongoing international project, From Pantomime to Language (PANTOLANG), aiming to develop a comprehensive, empirically grounded theory of the evolution of human language and the human mind, relying on the new paradigm of cognitive semiotics, which combines methods and concepts from the humanities and the sciences (Zlatev, 2015; Zlatev, et al. 2016)

Defining the Characteristics of Story Production of Autistic Children: A Multilevel Analysis

Several studies suggest that a valuable tool to examine linguistic skills in communication disorders is offered by procedures of narrative discourse assessment. Following this line of research, we present an exploratory study aimed to investigate storytelling abilities of autistic children to better define the characteristics of their story production. Participants included 41 autistic children and 41 children with typical development aged between 7.02 and 11.03 years matched on age, gender, level of formal education, intelligence quotient, working memory, attention skills, theory of mind, and phonological short-term memory. Narrative production was assessed by analysing the language samples obtained through the “Nest Story” description task. A multilevel analysis including micro- and macro-linguistic variables was adopted for narrative assessment. Group differences emerged on both micro- and macro-linguistic dimensions: autistic children produced narratives with more phonological errors and semantic paraphasias (microlinguistic variables) as well as more errors of global coherence and a fewer number of visible events and inferred events (macrolinguistic variables) than the control group.This study shows that even autistic children with adequate cognitive skills display several limitations in their narrative competence and that such weaknesses affect both micro- and macrolinguistic aspects of story production

Time and Narrative: An Investigation of Storytelling Abilities in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

This study analyzed the relation between mental time travel (MTT) and the ability to produce a storytelling focusing on global coherence, which is one of the most notable characteristics of narrative discourse. As global coherence is strictly tied to the temporal sequence of the events narrated in a story, we hypothesized that the construction of coherent narratives would rely on the ability to mentally navigate in time. To test such a hypothesis, we investigated the relation between one component of MTT—namely, episodic future thinking (EFT)—and narrative production skills by comparing the narratives uttered by 66 children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with those produced by 66 children with typical development. EFT was assessed by administering a task with minimal narrative demands, whereas storytelling production skills were assessed by administering two narrative production tasks that required children to generate future or past episodes with respect to the target stimuli. The results showed that EFT skills were impaired only in a subgroup of children with ASD and that such subgroup performed significantly worse on the narrative production task than ASD participants with high EFT skills and participants with typical development. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed

Buone idee per la mente. I fondamenti cognitivi ed evolutivi della cultura

Secondo una concezione largamente prevalente nella storia del pensiero, nonché fortemente radicata nel senso comune, natura e cultura sono due realtà opposte e separate. L’idea, in effetti, è che le straordinarie capacità culturali che caratterizzano la nostra specie abbiano permesso agli umani di affrancarsi dal mondo naturale. In polemica con tale idea, che accorda un ruolo primario alla natura culturale – la parte considerata più nobile – rispetto a quella animale degli esseri umani, in questo libro l’autrice propone un’indagine naturalistica della cultura. Analizzando i processi alla base della trasmissione delle credenze culturali in generale, e delle credenze religiose nello specifico, in Buone idee per la mente. I fondamenti cognitivi ed evolutivi della cultura Ines Adornetti mostra come tali processi siano fortemente radicati nei nostri dispositivi mentali: la trasmissione e l’acquisizione della cultura sono fortemente vincolate dal modo in cui funziona la cognizione. Considerare in questi termini la cultura è aderire alla svolta evoluzionistica della scienza cognitiva contemporanea: un modo per dar conto in termini naturalistici del tema della natura umana