From doing to saying

Abstract

Exclamations, manners of speaking, performative verbs, and vocal gestures such as laughter frequently cannot be "translated" into propositional language without losing their identity as actions in some way. But not all exclamations, performatives, and vocal gestures are alike in this respect. Some can be translated, and some lie somewhere in between on a "sublimation trajectory" from doing to saying. Intermediate points on this trajectory correspond to attested stages of child language acquisition, and may also correspond to stages in the phylogenetic evolution of language.