Mirror Neuron Hypothesis

What is language? The definition of language is “the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way” (Oxford dictionary, 2014). Philosophers have been asking themselves, "What is language in general?" Some say that language is the only “manipulation and use of symbols in order to draw attention to signified content” (Wikipedia, 2014). However, in this case, human beings won’t be the only species that can use language. Some research found that animals like chimpanzee may have their ways of communication. However, linguist Thomas A. Sebeok proposed not to use the term "language" for animal sign systems (Wikipedia, 2014). The philosophical discussions of language start

Our preexisting mirror system had a new functionality called “Offline Brain System (OBS)” (Castillo, 2014). The emergence of the Offline Brain System (OBS) helped us understand language and other complex imitative abilities (Castillo, 2014). Through imitation, we learn from those around us. Through speech repetition, our brains acquire language quickly and automatically (Castillo, 2014). The mirror neuron hypothesis also believes autistic children have difficulty learning language because their mirror neurons are underdeveloped. This hypothesis sounds reasonable and convincing. However, it only explains how the brains have the ability to acquire and understand language. But it does not answer the question of how language actually arose from

Fitch stated that the genetic connection is what leads to the trust (Fitch, 2010). Therefore, the unreliable signals are kept being used and eventually evolve into words. Similarly, Dean Falk’s “putting the baby down hypothesis” says that language emerged in order to fulfill a need in mother-child communication (Bouchard, 2013). Mothers had to calm the baby by using language while they were collecting food (Falk, 2004). Falk and Fitch’s theories might be able to explain the need for language, but they failed to explain how signals became words and how language