Alignment as the sensorimotor basis of the evolution of conversation

Abstract

Recent considerations on the nature of language recognize conversation as the central unit of analysis. Some approaches give a definition of conversation as parallel with that of cooperative action, with conversational success taking place when individuals converge to achieve a common goal. The present challenge of psycholinguistic is identifying the cognitive mechanisms underlying the process of convergence in conversation. Among these, interactional alignment, i.e. accommodation at many levels in dialogue, has received growing attention. In this paper, I will propose that, when it comes to the evolutionary issue, alignment might be considered a good candidate to account for some early strategies used by individuals keen to communicate in the absence of a full-fledged code. The focus on mechanisms of low-level alignment paves the way for a sensorimotor and protoconversational account of language evolution.