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Echo phonology: Signs of a link between gesture and speech

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 1998

Bencie Woll and
Jechil S. Sieratzki
Bencie Woll
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Communication Studies, City University, London, EC1V OHB, England b.woll@city.ac.uk
Jechil S. Sieratzki
Affiliation:
Department of Human Communication Science, University College London, London WC1, England bguestecon.tau.ac.il
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Abstract

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This commentary supports MacNeilage's dismissal of an evolutionary development from sign language to spoken language but presents evidence of a feature in sign language (echo phonology) that links iconic signs to abstract vocal syllables. These data provide an insight into possible mechanism by which iconic manual gestures accompanied by vocalisation could have provided a route for the evolution of spoken language with its characteristically arbitrary form–meaning relationship.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 21 , Issue 4 , August 1998, pp. 531 - 532
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press