The prefix meta- is often used to signal a higher level of discourse—a way of stepping beyond an ordinary subject to talk about it from an external vantage point. But how real is this elevation? Often, meta- creates an illusion of depth rather than adding actual substance. Meta-words are just words Consider the sentence: “A […]
language
Language and human uniqueness
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. […]
On the behaviour of language (5)
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 […]