Indicare sembra una cosa banale: vedo qualcosa, allungo un dito, mostro. Eppure, dentro questo gesto c’è una delle domande più grandi della linguistica: come nasce il linguaggio umano? In questa puntata parliamo di pointing, il gesto di indicare, e di come questo comportamento apparentemente semplice sia in realtà una finestra sulla nostra mente linguistica. Dai neuroni specchio al rapporto tra gesto e linguaggio, dalla filosofia alla psicolinguistica, oggi cerchiamo di capire qualcosa in più sulla nostra specie. Ma soprattutto ci chiediamo: il linguaggio nasce dall’interazione sociale e dall’imitazione, come sostengono gli approcci usage-based, oppure il pointing rivela una capacità simbolica più profonda, già presente nella mente umana?
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