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Very cool anecdote! And agreed, I think we're being a bit "handwavy" about what we mean when we say "language"; it seems like more of a spectrum. I'm not sure w
by cdrini 1y ago
Very cool anecdote! And agreed, I think we're being a bit "handwavy" about what we mean when we say "language"; it seems like more of a spectrum. I'm not sure where we draw the line between, say, language that animals use which, to the best of our knowledge, do not show complex/abstract communication, and human languages. And who knows where Neanderthal language/communication would fall on that spectrum!
- adgjlsfhk1 1y agothere are plenty of imaginable levels of language. there's everything from ability to communicate danger (which even trees seem to have), having simple constructs like names/ a handful of nouns for specific types of danger (e.g. Bear!) which is roughly where we think dolphins and some apes are. above that likely we get some verbs for coordinating hunting. at some point in this process you start getting syntax, tense, declension, adjectives etc. If I had to guess basic sentence structure probably goes back to the beginning of homo. The differences between Sapiens and others is likely much more subtle. e.g. symbolism, myth making, abstraction or something like that.