Mirror Neurons and (Inter)subjectivity: Typological Evidence from East Asian Languages

Abstract

Language is primarily constituted by action and interaction based on sensorimotor information. This paper demonstrates the nature of subjectivity and intersubjectivity through the neural mechanism and typological evidence of sentence-final particles from East Asian languages and extends to the discussion of the relationship between them. I propose that intersubjecivity is a kind of embedded or nested interpersonal synergy grounded in mirror neurons. By means of shared motor information and embodied simulation, one's self models can be generated in which other self-models are embedded. With the process of embedded interpersonal synergies, the relationship between synergies might be concerned to produce mutual shaping of meaning between speaker and hearer. Accordingly, I propose a hypothesis that the more intersubjective markers a language has, the more embedded or nested interpersonal synergies it has. This proposal opens new perspective on the understanding of the nature of language communication and (inter)subjectivity.