The first word : the search for the origins of language
The search for the origin of human language has finally come of age. For centuries, progress in Ur-language research was slow and spasmodic; many scientists came to believe that there was no definitive way to answer its central questions. Then, in the past 20 years, everything changed. Linguist Kenneally shows how linguists, cognitive scientists, animal researchers, biologists, and geneticists have all contributed valuable new insights into language evolution.--From publisher description
viii, 357 pages ; 25 cm
9780670034901, 0670034908
80460757
pt. 1. Language is not a thing
Prologue
Noam Chomsky
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh
Steven Pinker and Paul Bloom
Philip Lieberman
pt. 2. If you have human language ..
You have something to talk about
You have words
You have gestures
You have speech
You have structure
You have a human brain
Your genes have human mutations
pt. 3. What evolves?
Species evolve
Culture evolves
Why things evolve
pt. 4. Where next?
The future of the debate
The future of language and evolution
Epilogue : The babies of Galápagos