Why humans can talk about things that aren't there

Science · Published 19 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Most animals can only communicate about the here and now. Humans, however, possess a unique cognitive leap: displacement. Linguist Derek Bickerton argues this ability to discuss distant places or past events is what separates human language from animal communication systems.

Derek Bickerton proposed the 'language bioprogram hypothesis' to explain how complex languages emerge so rapidly. He observed that creole languages—formed when people with different native tongues create a common pidgin—often develop into full, complex grammars when children learn them as their first language. To Bickerton, this suggests humans possess an innate, universal grammar capacity that automatically organizes communication into structured systems.

Bickerton argues that human language is not merely a more advanced version of animal communication systems (ACSs). While ACSs are 'indexical'—restricted to immediate survival needs like food or social status—human language allows for spatial and temporal displacement. He suggests this breakthrough occurred about two million years ago as our ancestors moved up the scavenging pyramid. By working in coordinated groups to access megafauna carcasses, humans began using imitative signals to communicate about food sources that were miles away or discovered hours earlier.

Over time, these iconic signals became decontextualized into words. These words served as anchors for sensory memories, eventually allowing the brain to form concepts rather than just categories. This 'protolanguage' remained in a simple, linear structure for over a million years before evolving into the hierarchical structures we use today. Bickerton’s work seeks to reconcile biological evolution with the sudden appearance of formal syntax and symbolic thinking.

In the late 1970s, Bickerton even proposed a controversial experiment to prove these theories: marooning six couples speaking different languages on an island with children too young to speak any of them. The National Science Foundation refused to fund it, deeming the plan unethical. Despite this, his work continues to explore how niche construction and biological foundations shaped the human brain's capacity for symbolic representation.

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