The seeds of speech : language origin and evolution / Jean Aitchison.

Author
Aitchison, Jean, 1938- [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
Cambridge [England] ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Description
xii, 281 pages ; 21 cm.

Availability

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
ReCAP - Remote StorageP116 .A38 1996 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Series
    Cambridge approaches to linguistics. [More in this series]
    Summary note
    • Human language is a weird communication system: it has more in common with birdsong than with the calls of other primates. In this clear and non-technical overview, Jean Aitchison explores why it evolved and how it developed. She likens the search to a vast prehistoric jigsaw puzzle, in which numerous fragments of evidence must be assembled, some external to language, such as evolution theory and animal communication; others internal, including child language, pidgins and creoles, and language change.
    • She explains why language is so strange, outlines recent theories about its origin, and discusses possible paths of evolution. Finally, she considers what holds all languages together, and prevents them from becoming unlearnably different from one another.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references and index.
    Contents
    • 1. A natural curiosity: How did language begin?
    • 2. A peculiar habit: What is language for?
    • 3. The bother at Babel: Why do languages differ so much?
    • 4. Distinct duties: Is language an independent skill?
    • 5. The family tree: The evolutionary background
    • 6. A devious mind: The basic requirements
    • 7. Broken air: Inherited ingredients
    • 8. Small beginnings: First steps
    • 9. The second word: The emergence of rules
    • 10. The tower of speech: Expansion
    • 11. Time travelling: Extra attachments
    • 12. Rebuilding on the high seas: Keeping going
    • 13. The widening circle: Moving outwards
    • 14. The hidden core: The hunt for universals
    • 15. The real magician: Ruling the rules
    • 16. Unweaving the rainbow: Separating the strands
    • 17. The endless stair: Past and future.
    ISBN
    • 0521462460
    • 0521467934 (pbk.)
    LCCN
    95047738
    OCLC
    33666152
    RCP
    C - S
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    Supplementary Information