Nonverbal Steps to the Origins of Language

David B. Givens, John White

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781040716045
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Cognitive Psychology & Cognition
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Nonverbal Steps to the Origins of Language examines the origin and development of human language through the seemingly paradoxical lens of nonverbal communication. Taking an evolutionary stance, it identifies and explores 15 sequential nonverbal steps that cumulatively enabled modern linguistic communication in Homo sapiens.

Each step examines how human communication has evolved over time, detailing the changes that occurred at each developmental stage and their corresponding roles in gestured and spoken language. While following an evolutionary timeline, this book contextualizes these developments within modern discourse on topics such as linguistics, physiology, and brain development. The authors introduce the innovative "Language Superimposition Theory" (LST), proposing that human language—in both its vocal and gestural forms—was superimposed upon an older, preexisting nonverbal medium. This theoretical framework challenges conventional understanding of language origins by elevating nonverbal communication from its traditionally neglected status.

Exploring diverse topics including chemical messaging, audio-visual messaging, emotional signaling, binocular vision, facial expressions, pointing behaviors, object manipulation, ancient tool-making, and food sharing, this fascinating intellectual journey is a must-read for students of nonverbal communication from psychology, linguistics, and anthropology backgrounds.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Prologue
• 1 Step 1 (3.7 Billion Years Ago): Chemical Messages—“I Am Here”
• 2 Step 2 (500 Million Years Ago): Vertebrate Messages—“I Am Here” (Advent of “I”/“Me”)
• 3 Step 3 (500 Million Years Ago): Vertebrate Messages—“You Are There” (Advent of “You”)
• 4 Step 4 (150 Million Years Ago): Mammalian Emotion
• 5 Step 5 (150 Million Years Ago): Mammalian Acrobatic Tongue
• 6 Step 6 (65 Million Years Ago): Primate Binocular Vision
• 7 Step 7 (65 Million Years Ago): Primate Grasping Hands
• 8 Step 8 (65 Million Years Ago): Primate Dexterous Lips
• 9 Step 9 (35–40 Million Years Ago): Higher Primate Facial Communication
• 10 Step 10 (24 Million Years Ago): Primate Food Sharing
• 11 Step 11 (2.6 Million Years Ago): Human Tool Making
• 12 Step 12 (1.9 Million Years Ago): Object Fancy
• 13 Step 13 (1.9 Million Years Ago): Pointing—“It Is There” (Advent of “That”)
• 14 Step 14 (1.9 Million Years Ago): Human Cranial Capacity Increase
• 15 Step 15 (200 Thousand Years Ago): Sonorous Human Larynx
• 16 Conclusion: Language Migration, Visual to Vocal
• Epilogue
• References
• Index