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Chapter 5
Competition and Cooperation in Language
Evolution: A Comparison Between
Communication of Apes and Humans
Ines Adornetti
5.1
Introduction
In this paper, we analyze the topic of conflict in reference to the evolution
of language. Specifically, we examine two key elements involved in conflicting
interactions, competition and cooperation, and show how they are involved in the
evolution of linguistic skills. We discuss a model of language origins recently pro-
posed by Tomasello (
2008
) according to which human language is an evolutionary
product of the cognitive systems underlying cooperation among individuals in the
social group. The core assumption of this model is that the aforementioned fact
makes human language qualitatively different from ape communication, which is
mainly individualistic because of the competitive nature of nonhuman primates.
Our aim in this paper is to call such a model into question by pointing to an
“altruism of knowledge” in apes by discussing some recent experimental data
on chimpanzee vocal communication. This data allows us to shed light on the evolu-
tion of the cognitive mechanisms that underlie the origin of human communication
and to develop a more gradualistic and continuistic model of language evolution.
We conclude with some general consideration of the necessity to integrate the
cooperative model of communication with a wider and more complex conception
of human language and cognition.
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