The Importance of Rapid Cultural Convergence in the Evolution of Learned Symbolic Communication

Oliphant [5, 6] contends that language is the only naturally-occurring, learned symbolic communication system, because only humans can accurately observe meaning during the cultural transmission of communication. This paper outlines several objections to Oliphant’s argument. In particular, it is argued that the learning biases necessary to support learned symbolic communication may not be common and that the speed of cultural convergence during cultural evolution of communication may be a key factor in the evolution of such learning