The Evolution of Language - Fitch

2010

“We humans give our mind-reading interlocutors plenty of help – we are a species that delights in sharing meanings and strives to do so (Sperber and Wilson, 1986; Dessalles, 1998). This last aspect of human behavior is absolutely central to human communication, but quite rare in the animal world. Perhaps because this drive to share meaning has no English name (chattiness might be the closest term), its importance has been noted too rarely. German has an excellent word for this drive – Mitteilungsbedürfnis (MtB) – which translates roughly as ‘a drive or need to share thoughts and feelings,’ and I will adopt this term in the present discussion. Biologists might categorize MtB as “manipulation,” but this term doesn’t quite to do justice to the drive. The point of MtB is not simply to get someone else to do something, but rather to get them to share your thoughts (Tomasello et al., 2005).” (P.140)

Fitch, W. Tecumseh. Page 453, 457, 464-465, The Evolution of Language. Cambridge University Press, 2010.