Darwin's biosemiotics

the linguistic rubicon in the descent of man

Deana Neubauer

pp. 257-273

in: Ekaterina Velmezova, Kalevi Kull, Stephen J. Cowley (eds), Biosemiotic perspectives on language and linguistics, Berlin, Springer, 2015

Abstract

In this essay I shall attempt to show how Darwin's work on, and contribution to, linguistics has often charted a proto-biosemiotic trajectory of thought. While modern linguistic studies have tended to explore Darwin's contribution to linguistics adopting a Saussurean view I argue that such views undermine Darwin's notion of continuity between animals and humans and I propose to look at Darwin's theory of language, which stems from the Romantic thought, by adopting a biosemiotic perspective which clarifies Darwin's own ideas on the origin of language and animal evolution as well as their inter-relations.

Cited authors

de Saussure Ferdinand

Darwin Charles