Language and Species

by Derek Bickerton

Description

Language and Species presents the most detailed and well-documented scenario to date of the origins of language. Drawing on "living linguistic fossils" such as "ape talk," the "two-word" stage of small children, and pidgin languages, and on recent discoveries in paleoanthropology, Bickerton shows how a primitive "protolanguage" could have offered Homo erectus a novel ecological niche. He goes on to demonstrate how this protolanguage could have developed into the languages we speak today. show more "You are drawn into [Bickerton's] appreciation of the dominant role language plays not only in what we say, but in what we think and, therefore, what we are."--Robert Wright, New York Times Book Review "The evolution of language is a fascinating topic, and Bickerton's Language and Species is the best introduction we have."--John C. Marshall, Nature show less

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2 reviews

echaika 298 reviews

A must read for anyone interested in why and how language evolved in hominids. It is, in some instances, qute speculative, but what he speculates about is quite plausible given the hard scientific data which I keep up with assiduously. This has the virtue of being a good read as well.

Sep 21, 2009

glendac 13 reviews

http://www.glendaclaborne.com/arabissmo/projects/grad/bickerton.html

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