The Three Stage Digital Evolution of Linguistic Humans

Abstract

Digital Linguistics (DL) is an interdisciplinary study that identifies human language as a digital evolution of mammal analog vocal sign communications, founded on the vertebrate spinal sign reflex mechanism [Tokumaru 2017 a/b, 2018 a/b/c/d]. Analog signs are unique with their physical sound waveforms but limited in number, whilst human digital word signs are infinite by permutation of their logical property, phonemes. The first digital evolution took place 66,000 years ago with South African Neolithic industries, Howiesons Poort, when linguistic humans acquired a hypertrophied mandibular bone to house a descended larynx for vowel accented syllables containing logical properties of phonemes and morae. Morae made each syllable distinctive in the time axis and enabled grammatical modulation by alternately transmitting conceptual and grammatical syllables. The sign reflex mechanism is an unconscious self-protection and life-support mechanism, operated by immune cell networks inside the ventricle system. DL identified cellular and molecular structures for the sign (=concept) device as a B lymphocyte (or, in other words, Mobile Ad-Hoc Networking Neuron), connects to sensory, conceptual and networking memories, which consist of its meanings [Table 1]. Its antibodies can network with antigens of CSF-Contacting Neurons at the brainstem reticular formation and of Microglia cells at the neocortex [Figure 1]. It is plausible that the 3D structure of the antigen molecule takes the shape of word sound waveform multiplexing intensity and pitch, and that specifically pairing the antibody molecule consists of three CDRs (Complementality Defining Regions) in the Antibody Variable Region network with the logic of dichotomy and dualism. As sign reflex deals with survival issues such as food, safety and reproduction, it is stubborn, passive and inflexible: It does not spontaneously look for something new, and it is not designed to revise itself. These characteristics are not desirable for the development of human intelligence, and thus are to be overcome. All the word, sensory and network memories in the brain must be acquired postnatally through individual learning and thought. The reason and intelligence of humans depend on how correctly and efficiently humans learn new words and acquire appropriate meanings for them.