When Empathy Becomes Words

This chapter explains how linguistic communication is formed based on affective communication through intercorporeality. As an example, the handing over of a teddy bear toy Winnie the Pooh between a mother and a non-verbal baby is given. When the mother tries to hand over a nearby milk bottle instead of the teddy bear, the baby shows a dissatisfied and uncomfortable expression, not displaying the satisfied pleasure expression until handed over with the teddy bear while the mother says, “Here’s your Pooh.” During the handing over of Pooh, the visible Pooh that can be touched and held combines visual and tactile senses, merging into one sensory experience, always the same Pooh being handed over. Through hearing the same Pooh from the mother about the same Pooh every time, the identity of perception across various senses and the identity of the word with the object’s identity are added, forming the foundation for language acquisition through repetition. Thus, linguistic communication is established on the foundation of affective communication through the coinciding of affect between mother and child. In this process, onomatopoeia and mimetic words play a mediating role.