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This book provides a critical introduction to the current views and controversies regarding language evolution. It sheds new light on hot topics such as: How ancient is language? Did Neanderthals have some form of language? Did language evolve gradually and incrementally, through stages, or suddenly, in one leap, in all its complexity? Does language evolution involve natural selection or not?
This book is essential reading for scholars and students interested in language evolution, especially those in the fields of linguistics, psychology, biology, anthropology, and neuroscience.
List of contents
Editor introduction; Helen Aristar-Dry.- 1. Introduction to Divergent Views.- 2. Sudden (Saltationist) Approaches to Language Evolution.- 3. Gradualist Approaches to Language Evolution.- 4. Putting it all Together: The Language-Brain-Genes Loop.
Summary
This book provides a critical introduction to the current views and controversies regarding language evolution. It sheds new light on hot topics such as: How ancient is language? Did Neanderthals have some form of language? Did language evolve gradually and incrementally, through stages, or suddenly, in one leap, in all its complexity? Does language evolution involve natural selection or not?
This book is essential reading for scholars and students interested in language evolution, especially those in the fields of linguistics, psychology, biology, anthropology, and neuroscience.
Additional text
“Using a brilliant collection of data from different fields, this book provides novel insights into the emergence and evolution of language. It is a solid contribution to the literature and a must read for anyone interested in language evolution. … this book by Progovac is a worthwhile addition to the body of knowledge, one that I enjoyed reading and one that stimulated my thinking about language evolution in new and hopefully productive ways.” (Majid Manoochehri, Evolutionary Psychological Science, Vol. 7, 2021)
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"Using a brilliant collection of data from different fields, this book provides novel insights into the emergence and evolution of language. It is a solid contribution to the literature and a must read for anyone interested in language evolution. ... this book by Progovac is a worthwhile addition to the body of knowledge, one that I enjoyed reading and one that stimulated my thinking about language evolution in new and hopefully productive ways." (Majid Manoochehri, Evolutionary Psychological Science, Vol. 7, 2021)
