Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Feb;24(1):225-231.
doi: 10.3758/s13423-016-1077-7.

The origins of language in teaching

Kevin N Laland  1
Affiliations
Review

The origins of language in teaching

Kevin N Laland. Psychon Bull Rev. 2017 Feb.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Evolution; Language; Teaching.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Anton SC. Evolution of early Homo: An integrated biological perspective. Science. 2014;345:6192. doi: 10.1126/science.1236828. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bergman A, Feldman MW. On the evolution of learning: Representation of a stochastic environment. Theoretical Population Biology. 1995;48:251–276. doi: 10.1006/tpbi.1995.1029. - DOI
    1. Bickerton, A. (2009). Adam’s Tongue. New York, NY: Hill & Wang.
    1. Bloom P. Intentionality and word learning. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 1997;1:9–12. doi: 10.1016/S1364-6613(97)01006-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bloom P. How children learn the meaning of words. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; 2000.

LinkOut - more resources