How the mouth became symbolic

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Neuroscience
• Linguistics

Background:

• Theories of language origin often focus on abstract symbols.
• Early sensorimotor experiences are crucial for cognitive development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose that language roots lie in early bodily experiences, specifically haptic and oral interactions.
• To suggest language evolved through neural reuse of circuits for ingestion and action understanding.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical framework integrating sensorimotor patterns, affordances, embodied simulation, and sound symbolism.
• Tracing a pathway from bodily experience to symbolic reference in language acquisition.

Main Results:

• Early haptic and oral interactions ground conceptual knowledge through active exploration.
• The mouth functions as a cognitive organ for tactile perception and intersubjective exchange.
• Neural reuse of ingestion/action circuits, shaped by affordances and sound symbolism, may underlie language evolution.

Conclusions:

• Language acquisition arises from sensorimotor patterns to iconic vocal forms, linking bodily experience to symbolic reference.
• Bodily experience, particularly oral and haptic, provides the foundation for symbolic representation in language.
• Evolutionary perspective suggests language emerged from repurposing existing neural circuits for embodied functions.