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We often hear about the similarities between humans and our closest primate relatives—chimpanzees and bonobos—especially when it comes to social behaviours, like the mother–child bond. These comparisons are used to draw beautiful parallels that make us feel more connected to the animal kingdom, but this often requires ignoring the differences. In this article, I talk […]
Paleoanthropology, the study of ancient humans, continually revises our understanding of what makes Homo sapiens unique. Initially, the faculty of ‘language’ was thought to be exclusive to modern humans. This view expanded to include Neanderthals as new evidence came to light. Now, even Homo erectus, our ancient ancestor, is considered to have had this capacity. […]
If your friend shows you a medal and says that it proves he’s run a marathon, you might not totally believe him. Yeah, your friend is fit and the medal looks legit; however, this piece of metal does not actually prove that he’s run the 26.2 miles. This scepticism may seem like semantic hair-splitting, but […]
In a small, peaceful plot of land, Prudence is busy at work, sowing seeds for the next crop, when she sees two strangers approach. As they come closer, Prudence notices that one of them is carrying a gun. Stranger: Good day. My name is Justine, and this is Peter. We’ve come here to ask for […]
It’s a sunny spring day and the birds are busy. Some are flying about, perhaps foraging. I notice one that is staring at me from under the bush. What does it want? Suddenly, the bird returns with a little stick in its beak, flies away and disappears into a tree. Ah, it’s probably building a […]
Psychoanalysis posits that a child’s unconscious desire towards the opposite-sex parent and rivalry towards the same-sex parent give rise to neurosis and mental illness in adulthood, if not sufficiently overcome. Yet, a closer examination reveals a logical and empirical flaw in how these dynamics are understood. To see it clearly, let’s delve into Jamie’s story. […]
Birthdays have not always been the light-hearted affairs we know today. Tracing back to ancient civilizations, such as the Greeks and Egyptians, significant days like these were often marked by rituals of appeasement towards gods or evil spirits. These practices, viewed through a psychoanalytic lens, reveal a societal struggle with themes of power, innocence, and […]
In ‘Civilization and Its Discontents,’ Sigmund Freud presents a common view of human nature: ‘Homo homini lupus’ (man is a wolf to man). Civilization, according to Freud, works tirelessly to curb our aggressive instincts through love, sexual repression, and moral ideals, albeit with limited success. The issue arises when considering the agents of civilisation – […]
Human–dog interactions are a great way to demonstrate what I call the behaviour of language: that is, a fundamental difference between human and nonhuman communication and, consequently, between human and nonhuman cognition. Imagine a situation in which your dog is barking and whining at you (signals) because it wants an item of food that only you […]
Originally published in Babel – The Language Magazine Shortly after our first daughter was born in 2005, I wrote in my diary: Everything feels like it has changed. I am a mother now. In less than a year there will be a little voice calling me mummy. Actually already it has started: one of the […]
I have long been entertaining the following hypothesis about the origin of our species. Millions of years ago, an ape began to take an active interest in its progeny. Children became a resource. Mothers and others would favour docile, educable offspring who could be turned into reproductive allies that would give them more descendants. Human […]
Paul Krugman once said to Bernard Lietaer, a monetary theorist and one of the architects of the euro, that he should ‘never touch the money system’ because he would kill himself academically. This statement is akin to ‘never question God’ in the academic environment of the middle ages. Indeed, Bitcoin is relevant to academia because […]
When someone trains a dog to understand a command, they are actively making the dog respond to signals such as a pointing gesture and spoken words; they are establishing a signal–response relationship. This unique communicative behaviour is perhaps taken for granted. It is not considered relevant for a definition of language or human communication by […]
Humans have a very strong need to communicate. This ‘drive to share thoughts’ has been pointed out as one of the main differences between us and other species. It is, I suppose, what makes me write the present post to you, reader. Another exclusive characteristic of human communication is our cooperative willingness to infer the […]
Imagine a parent explaining to their child that they ought to say ‘thank you’. They are at a restaurant, the food arrives, and the child doesn’t say anything. The parent gets angry, ‘very well, I won’t buy you any ice cream now!’ Essentially, the parent intends to make the child respond to his spoken words […]
I had friends over recently with their two daughters aged three and one, and the three-year-old suddenly called her father by his first name instead of Dad. We all started laughing and mocking our friend for not having any authority. The little girl was confused and did not seem to get the joke – and […]
Science is the most reliable form of knowledge that we have, but today, it has certain limits. Descartes prudently stated that science could only deal with the body and not with the soul (or the mind). From this original thought arose the dualism of mind versus body. Recently, this idea has been taken further by […]
The notion of language difference – in contrast to language disorder or delay – is important for clinicians and researchers studying children’s language acquisition. The distinction between difference and disorder reflects the need to distinguish between a standard path of language development, that might for example be described in literature or used as a normative […]
Spanish is considered by some of its speakers — including linguists and philologists such as Teresa Meana Suárez and Claudia Guichard Bello — a sexist language. This is mainly because in Spanish the masculine gender is used to refer to both males and females as a generic form. In terms of human beings, this means […]
Before discussing Linguistic Anthropology, let’s see what Anthropology itself is. Anthropology is the study of humans in society, how they have behaved, what are their lifestyle, cultures, and their origins. The past and the present of human experiences in history are studied in Anthropology. Linguistic Anthropology is a branch of Anthropology that talks about the […]