prelinguistic-cognition

The chapter critically examines the cognitive capabilities of humans in the absence of language, using neurological cases to show that many cognitive functions remain intact despite language loss. It challenges the notion of a specialized, independent grammar module and questions the localization of generativity and complex cognitive skills exclusively in the left hemisphere. Emphasizing a modular approach, the chapter highlights the importance of prelinguistic human capacities such as gesture, toolmaking, and social intelligence, and calls for an interdisciplinary perspective integrating anthropology and biology to better understand brain lateralization and language evolution.

This chapter explores human cognition in the absence of symbolic language, highlighting that individuals such as prelinguistic children, illiterate deaf-mutes, and certain neurological patients can perform complex cognitive functions without internal speech. It argues that these individuals operate within a distinct cognitive culture characterized by episodic memory, mimetic communication, and social understanding, demonstrating that many cultural activities and cognitive skills do not rely on symbolic language. The chapter also emphasizes the autonomy of nonverbal forms of representation, such as visual thinking and crafts, from linguistic processes.