Darwin's view of language in "The Descent of Man": an intertextual reading

The chapter of language in Darwin's "The Descent of Man" (1871) is investigated from the vantage point of the scientist's discussion of contemporary debates on language both in animal and in other animals. It is argued that Darwin referred to "natural" theories on language formulated by scholars such as Wedgwood, Farrar and others, integrating them into his concept of struggle for survival and evolution. It is also suggested that Darwin considered human use of language as a basic help to the development of human mental powers, and not merely as an instrument of thought. In this sense, Darwin may be credited of a kind of co-evolutionist brain/language theoretical perspective.