New subject: [Koglist] Re: [CEU Cogsci Talks] Peter Gärdenfors (Lund University): From showing to telling: On the evolutionary path from pantomime to language, Febr 10, 2026

5 Feb 2026

Dear all,
The CEU Department of Cognitive Science invites you to the following talk by:
Peter
Gärdenfors<https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/lucat/user/dd34d43676316d332664e1351eb21a47>
(Lund University)*
*Please note, this is a talk by the same speaker as the talk on Wednesday, 11th of
February, but on another topic.
Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Time: 4 pm (to 5:30 pm) CET
Venue: Auditorium
Zoom : Meeting ID: 969 2496
5784<https://www.google.com/url?q=https://ceu-edu.zoom.us/j/96924965784?…
Passcode: 471712
Chair: Gergo Csibra
Title:
From showing to telling: On the evolutionary path from pantomime to language
Abstract:
Pantomime has two functions. The first is to show how something is done. This is used in
teaching contexts. The second is to tell about something – events, stories, gossip, plans,
dreams, etc. The second use has been extended successively to protosign, protolanguage,
and language.
In this talk I analyse the transition from the first to the second use of pantomime. How
did the shift from showing to telling happen? Apparently, this is a crucial step in the
evolution of language. My account is based on comparing the intentions behind a pantomime.
In a teaching context, a pantomime is used by a mimer (teacher) with the intention that
the onlooker (student) perceives a sequence of actions that the onlooker should perform.
In a communicative context, the mimer acts with the intention to ostensively communicate a
message to an audience.
A following step in the evolution of language concerns the partitioning of a pantomime in
smaller units. A pantomime for teaching consists of ‘holophrases’ in the terminology of
Arbib. In the evolution of language, there has been a discretization so the holophrases
are replaced with conventionalized gestures or words. My account of this development into
discrete parts will be formed in terms of how humans structure mental representations of
events, where the basic components are actor, action, patient, and result.
Anyone not affiliated with CEU wishing to attend in-person in Vienna must reply
here<https://forms.office.com/e/FJ1q8wKj0G> to get access to the lecture hall.
Best,
Mariem
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[Koglist] [CEU Cogsci Talks] Peter Gärdenfors (Lund University): From showing to telling: On the evolutionary path from pantomime to language, Febr 10, 2026