The origins of grammar : an anthropological perspective

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

The origins of grammar : an anthropological perspective

Martin Edwardes

Continuum, c2010

  • : pbk
  • : hardcover

Available at  / 4 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-167) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

: hardcover ISBN 9781441114389

Description

The book examines the originsof language and grammar and also looks at the nature of being human. As a species, we have a long history of trying to find aspects of ourselves that are exclusively human.Some of the features of humanity thought to be solely the realm of the spiritual - for example cognition andemotion -are increasingly being explained in terms of physical effects.Exclusive physical functions are now questioned too - bipedality, dexterity, socialisation, delayed gratification. Couldthe differences between the human and animal kingdombe a matter of degrees rather than absolutes? Language, and language grammar,is one territory that might provide an answer. Martin Edwardes builds a story examining the evolutionary sources of our self-recognition, of human culture and social institutions andof the cognitive forms that lie behind our linguistic grammatical forms.He covers the current thinking in the field of language origins and goes on todevelop an essentialnewtheory of the origins of grammar.

Table of Contents

Part I: Making The Case \ 1. Why All the Fuss? \ 2. The Story So Far \ Part II: Looking at Grammar \ 3. The Heavy Hand of Generative Linguistics \ 4. Grammar Without Tiers \ 5. It's All in the Mind \ Part III: Looking at People \ 6. Being Human \ 7. The Weirdness of Self \ Part IV: A Speculation on Evolution \ 8. How Did We Come to Be Human? \ 9. How Did We Come to Use Language? \ Part V: Uncovering the Evidence \ 10. Animals: what nonhumans tell us about being human \ 11. Children: what human development tells us about being human \ 12. Temporality: what our understanding of time tells us about being human \ Part VI: Conclusions \ 13. What Are the Universals of Grammar \ 14. The Evolution of Grammar: what should we look for? \ Bibliography \ Index
Volume

: pbk ISBN 9781441170989

Table of Contents

Part I: Making The Case \ 1. Why All the Fuss? \ 2. The Story So Far \ Part II: Looking at Grammar \ 3. The Heavy Hand of Generative Linguistics \ 4. Grammar Without Tiers \ 5. It's All in the Mind \ Part III: Looking at People \ 6. Being Human \ 7. The Weirdness of Self \ Part IV: A Speculation on Evolution \ 8. How Did We Come to Be Human? \ 9. How Did We Come to Use Language? \ Part V: Uncovering the Evidence \ 10. Animals: what nonhumans tell us about being human \ 11. Children: what human development tells us about being human \ 12. Temporality: what our understanding of time tells us about being human \ Part VI: Conclusions \ 13. What Are the Universals of Grammar \ 14. The Evolution of Grammar: what should we look for? \ Bibliography \ Index

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