Word, Niche and Super-Niche: How Language Makes Minds Matter More

Abstract

How does language (spoken or written) impact thought? One useful way to approach this important but elusive question may be to consider language itself as a cognition-enhancing animal-built structure. To take this perspective is to view language as a kind of self-constructed cognitive niche.

Keywords

• niche construction, cognitive niche, cognition-enhancing structure.