Nonverbal Language as a Language

There is considerable disagreement about the nature of nonverbal communication and whether it qualifies as language. Taking a strong position that nonverbal communication is not language, but more closely resembles nonverbal communication systems of other animals is Robbins Burling (1993).

Burling stated from the beginning that human beings have two fundamentally different forms of communication systems. One includes language, and the other represents most nonverbal communication. Burling clearly distinguished nonverbal gesturecall systems, as he termed them, from language, claiming that they could not have even served as the base for the development of language. Instead, he indicated, nonverbal communication represented a nonlanguage communication system and that many animals have similar systems, but no language.

On the other hand, many researchers and theorists work under the starting assumption that nonverbal communication is equivalent to nonverbal language, presenting some of the same opportunities and difficulties. For example, i

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stures and expressions and calls, which Burling distinguished from language, and which animals also utilize in their communications. Given the ongoing controversy about whether animals possess "language" or simply communication systems, it is not likely that the final answer can be given here. Yet, like Chomsky and others, it seems that Burling believes that language is inextricably bound to the human brain, and represents a function completely separate from the gesturecall systems of animals and nonverbal human communication. While Burling based his conclusion on the discontinuity between nonverbal communication systems and human language, others find considerable evidence of similarities or continuities between these two, leading them to the opposite conclusion. For example, several of the respondents to Burling's own article disagreed with his conclusions, noting that he makes too extreme a case for the separation of language from communication systems. Instead, they support a theoretical stance that finds a relationship between animal nonverbal communication systems and human nonverbal communication systems and human language. Blount (1993), for example, indicated that human language might be part of a larger communicati
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Nowicki Duke, JA Russell, Chomsky Burling, Robbins Burling, Language Introduction, nonverbal communication, Communication System, Psychological Bulletin, Duke MP, Current Anthropology, Literary History, communication systems, facial expressions, nonverbal communication systems, nonverbal language, communication system, nowicki duke, duke 1992, human language, considerable evidence, nowicki duke 1992, communication systems human, systems human, nonverbal communication language, parallel process model,
Approximate Word count = 1454
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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