The seeds of speech : language origin and evolution
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The seeds of speech : language origin and evolution
（Cambridge approaches to linguistics）
Cambridge University Press, 1996
- : hbk
- : pbk
Available at / 88 libraries
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Kobe Shoin Women's University Library / Kobe Shoin Women's College Library
: pbk10681176,
801.2/140-B10681176 -
University of Tsukuba Library, Library on Library and Information Science
:801.02:A-25961000730
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Note
Bibliography: p. 245-267
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Human language is a weird communication system: it has more in common with birdsong than 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, 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. Jean Aitchison is the Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication at Oxford University. She gave the 1996 BBC Reith lectures The Language Web.
Table of Contents
- Part I. Puzzles: 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?
- Part II. Origin: 5. The family tree: the evolutionary background
- 6. A devious mind: the basic requirements
- 7. Broken air: inherited ingredients
- 8. Small beginnings: first steps
- Part III. Evolution: 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
- Part IV. Diffusion: 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.
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