LINGUIST List 13.1399

Sat May 18 2002

Media: Article: Gestural Theory, New York Times

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>

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  • Stirling Newberry, Media: New York Times article on the origin of language

    Message 1: Media: New York Times article on the origin of language

     Date: Sat, 18 May 2002 10:16:26 -0400
    From: Stirling Newberry <stnewberryearthlink.net>
    Subject: Media: New York Times article on the origin of language


    Today's New York Times:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/18/arts/18GEST.html

    "What a hairy back!" was Lily Tomlin's candidate for the first human sentence. But whatever the content of that original remark, if Michael C. Corballis is correct, it was expressed in gestures, not words.

    Mr. Corballis, a psychologist at the University of Auckland, in New Zealand, is the latest proponent of a controversial idea known among language experts as the "gestural theory." In essence, gestural theorists contend that long before early humans spoke they jabbered away with their hands."

    The article is available with a free registration, which requires giving an email address.



    stirling s newberry