Ontogeny and evolutionary processes
Ontogeny and evolutionary processes
This symposium aims to provide a platform for scholars working in various developmental sciences to discuss how ontogenetic processes inform our understanding of human cognitive and linguistic evolution. In search for deep homologies, examples will be drawn from Evo-Devo, developmental patterns in anatomical form, pathologies, and comparative approaches in order to demonstrate that current processes of language acquisition can inform our understanding of how human language evolved.
Human self-domestication: Towards an eco-evo-devo approach to language evolution
Antonio Benítez Burraco, Department of Spanish, Linguistics, and Theory of Literature (Linguistics), University of Seville, Spain
Whereas language evolution is usually construed as a biological process, linguistic change is thought to depend on factors internal to languages, with a limited intervention of environmental, cognitive, or cultural elements. In this talk, I will argue that human self-domestication might help reconcile these two narratives, in the spirit of eco-evo-devo theories in biology. While it seemingly contributed to some of the brain/cognitive changes resulting in our language-readiness, it also contributed to the physiological/behavioral changes favoring the emergence of complex languages. This effect is corroborated by the presence of altered signs of self-domestication in cognitive disorders entailing problems with language.
A cognitive perspective on pretend play and language in evolution and development
Michael Pleyer, English Department/Universität Koblenz-Landau/Germany
Both pretend play and language acquisition seem to be uniquely human capacities tightly interwoven with the suite of advanced socio-cognitive and general cognitive capacities that emerge in the course of human ontogeny. In this talk I will investigate what the relationship of language and pretend play in ontogeny can tell us about their co-evolution. Specifically, I will argue that in human evolution, pretend play served as a context and breeding ground for the development of linguistic constructions to share perspectives. The evolution of linguistic constructions for perspective-sharing in turn amplified the role of pretend play in internalizing culturally salient schemas and routines.
The development of narrative in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and children with typical development: Implications for language origins
Francesco Ferretti, Ines Adornetti, Alessandra Chiera, Valentina Deriu, Cosmic Lab, Department of Philosophy, Communication and Performing Arts, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy
In this talk we focus on the ontogeny of narrative abilities in relation to language evolution. We investigate the ability to understand multi modal narratives in children with high functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and children with typical development (TD) aged from 8 to 11. Beside the narrative task, children are administered additional cognitive tests. We aim to examine: whether different performance in narrative comprehension could be found between two groups; whether the medium (linguistic vs. visual) could influence children’s performances and whether the explored cognitive abilities could affect narrative processing. We discuss results in the framework of a narrative account of language origins.
Systemic variation in language ontogeny: Insights from evo-neuro-devo perspective
Olga Vasileva, Center for Evolutionary Studies-Crawford Lab, Psychology Department, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Language evolution field has a long history of interest in human ontogeny, and specifically development of cognition and language. Modern approaches allow researchers going beyond simple analogies between human ontogeny and phylogeny in cognitive and linguistic development. The current talk discusses evo-neuro-devo paradigm, which brings together patterns of brain development in ontogeny, and patterns observed in brain evolutionary development. I will argue that systemic variation observed on genetic, neurological, cognitive and behavioral phenotypic levels in ontogeny is not random. On the contrary, it reflects the development of human cognitive-linguistic continuum in ontogeny, and allows making inferences in its development in the evolution of our species.
Olga Vasileva is PhD candidate in the Psychology Department at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. Her main research interests include origins of language and cognition, as well as factors that guide their evolution and development in humans. Olga’s current research projects include: relationships between handedness and language over a life span; application of evo-devo approach to systemic variation in human cognitive-linguistic development; cross-cultural research in early motor and communicative development in small-scale societies and cultural aspects of parenting.
Fracesco Ferretti is Professor in Philosophy of Language at the University of Roma Tre in Rome, Italy. His main research interests include language evolution (from a cognitive point of view) and cognitive pragmatics. He is director of the Cosmic Lab (Cognition, Social Multimodal Interaction and Communication Laboratory).
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