From hand to mouth

In this spirited book Michael Corballis offer his version of the not entirely new argument that
manual language came before spoken language. He wants a wide audience and writes in a lively
and accessible style. All of his doing was admirable but Corballis wants to offer a serious
argument in support of early gestural language. Based in what we read in other summary,
Corballis fails.

In short his argument runs as follows: The vocal tracts of apes are poorly designated to produce
speech sounds. Along with the case of using the hands to make indexical gestures, the
advantages of silence and the use of locational signing it means that the earliest language of the
human was probably gestural. Corballis believes that Australophitheous can already use some
sort of manual proto-language but he is not clear. A million years ago, he gives syntax to Homo
crectus. It may have well achieve to a form of language with the modern signed language of
deaf. Corballis believes that signed language can be supplemented with some vocalizations but
50 years ago. It was spoken language that freed the hands for technology and as the result the
new cultural produces, burst that we can find in the upper Paleolithic.

Normally, people in the society and even in the academe would always think that verbal
communication is one of the most traditional approach to delivering messages, while non-verbal
gestures and body language acted as mere substitutes for words and utterances. But according to
Michael C. Corballis, it is argued that manual gestures and non-verbal messages are the
foundation of all types of communication. His arguments and statements claim that there are
literary and historical references that effectively point out to the old position of body language
and facial expressions as the first known communicative competence of living things, especially
human beings.

Vocabulary Words

1. Australopithecus - an extinct genus of small-brained,large-toothed bipedal hominids that

lived in Africa between one and four million years ago.

2. Versatile - capable of or adapted for turning easily from one to another of various tasks, fields
of endeavor, etc.:
3. Supplement - something added to complete a thing, supply a deficiency, or reinforce or
extend a whole.

4. Autonomous - (of a vehicle) navigated and maneuvered by a computer without a need for
human control or intervention under a range of driving situations and conditions:

5. Freed - to make free; set at liberty; release from bondage, imprisonment, or restraint.

Critique

My first opinion for the paragraph was summarized and it has its own pros and cons. From the
first paragraph, it started as if the introduction was introduced. My second opinion it was quite
good but the in need more information.

At the middle of the story the things in the paragraph was changed a little bit and has a good
summarization.

At last the whole story was great but then the story was still not satisfying.

Passed by: Kienjee Villaver Grade-Strand-Section: 11 – ICT BABBAGE

Michaela Casingal