How Minds Made Language (6): Conclusion

Nadine Taylor

16 May 2025 — 1 min read

Photo by JACQUELINE BRANDWAYN / Unsplash

In conclusion, some of the key socio-cognitive capacities that were likely to have been in place before the evolution of language. Using evidence from non-human primate behaviour, I have discussed the importance of the theory of mind (ToM), conceptualisation, imitation, joint attention and gaze tracking, call variants, voluntary control, and aspects of Neuroanatomy. However, researchers differ in their arguments for which capacities hold the most importance. Burling (2005) outlines five essential cognitive capacities[i]; whilst Worden (1998) argues that social intelligence is extended to form a ToM, and it is ToM which was co-opted for language.[ii]

While a definitive set of core cognitive capacities or a universally accepted evolutionary model for language may remain elusive, further research should focus on clarifying points of convergence across disciplines. Progress lies in refining testable hypotheses and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, rather than forcing consensus on a singular model.

References

[i] Burling, R. (2005). The talking ape: How language evolved. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[ii] Worden, R. (1998). The evolution of language from social intelligence. In J. R. Hurford, M. Studdert-Kennedy, C. Knight (Eds.), Approaches to the evolution of language: Social and Cognitive Bases (pp. 148-156). Cambridge, New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.

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