The Evolutionary Emergence of Language: Social Function and the Origins of Linguistic FormChris Knight, Michael Studdert-Kennedy, James Hurford, Emeritus Professor of General Linguistics James R Hurford Language has no counterpart in the animal world. Unique to Homo sapiens, it appears inseparable from human nature. But how, when and why did it emerge? The contributors to this volume - linguists, anthropologists, cognitive scientists, and others - adopt a modern Darwinian perspective which offers a bold synthesis of the human and natural sciences. As a feature of human social intelligence, language evolution is driven by biologically anomalous levels of social cooperation. Phonetic competence correspondingly reflects social pressures for vocal imitation, learning, and other forms of social transmission. Distinctively human social and cultural strategies gave rise to the complex syntactical structure of speech. This book, presenting language as a remarkable social adaptation, testifies to the growing influence of evolutionary thinking in contemporary linguistics. It will be welcomed by all those interested in human evolution, evolutionary psychology, linguistic anthropology, and general linguistics. |
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Contents
| 19 | |
| 27 | |
| 40 | |
| 62 | |
| 81 | |
| 99 | |
The Emergence of Phonetic Structure | 121 |
Introduction The Emergence of Phonetic Structure | 123 |
Introduction The Emergence of Syntax | 219 |
The Spandrels of the Linguistic Genotype | 231 |
The Distinction Between Sentences and Noun Phrases An Impediment to Language Evolution? | 248 |
How Protolanguage Became Language | 264 |
Holistic Utterances in Protolanguage The Link from Primates to Humans | 285 |
Syntax Without Natural Selection How Compositionality Emerges from Vocabulary in a Population of Learners | 303 |
Social Transmission Favours Linguistic Generalisation | 324 |
Words Memes and Language Evolution | 353 |
The Role of Mimesis in Infant Language Development Evidence for Phylogeny? | 130 |
Evolution of Speech The Relation Between Ontogeny and Phylogeny | 146 |
Evolutionary Implications of the Particulate Principle Imitation and the Dissociation of Phonetic Form from Semantic Function | 161 |
Emergence of Sound Systems Through SelfOrganisation | 177 |
Modelling LanguagePhysiology Coevolution | 199 |
The Emergence of Syntax | 217 |
On the Reconstruction of ProtoWorld Word Order | 372 |
Epilogue | 389 |
The History Rate and Pattern of World Linguistic Evolution | 391 |
Author Index | 417 |
Subject Index | 421 |
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Common terms and phrases
ability adaptive agents animal appear Approaches argument bases behaviour Bickerton brain calls Cambridge Cambridge University Press capacity chapter child cognitive communication complex computational consistent consonants context cooperation costs cultural described diversity early effect emergence evidence Evolution of Language evolutionary evolved example experiments explain express fact Figure fitness function gestures give given grammar groups human human language Hurford imitation increase individuals infants initial Knight learning linguistic meaning mechanism natural observed origin pairs particular patterns phonetic play population position possible Power present pressures primate principle produce protolanguage receivers reference relatively relevant representation result ritual role rules selection semantic sentence sequence signals simple simulation social sound speakers species speech stage status strategies string structure Studdert-Kennedy success suggests syllable symbolic syntactic syntax theory understand utterances vocal vowels words York
Popular passages
Page 163 - Hence, we may state that among all the information-carrying systems, the genetic code and the verbal code are the only ones based upon the use of discrete components which, by themselves, are devoid of inherent meaning but serve to constitute the minimal senseful units, ie entities endowed with their own, intrinsic meaning in the given code.
Page 237 - ... throw off" a series of structural by-products — like the mold marks on an old bottle or, in the case of an architectural spandrel itself, the triangular space "left over" between a rounded arch and the rectangular frame of wall and ceiling. Such byproducts may later be co-opted for useful purposes, but they didn't arise as adaptations. Reading and writing are now highly adaptive for humans, but the mental machinery for these crucial capacities must have originated as spandrels that were co-opted...
Page 365 - In languages with prepositions, the genitive almost always follows the governing noun, while in languages with postpositions it almost always precedes.
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Bibliographic information
| Title | The Evolutionary Emergence of Language: Social Function and the Origins of Linguistic Form |
| Editors | Chris Knight, Michael Studdert-Kennedy, James Hurford, Emeritus Professor of General Linguistics James R Hurford |
| Contributor | Cambridge University |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press, 2000 |
| ISBN | 0521786967, 9780521786966 |
| Length | 426 pages |
| Subjects | › › Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / General Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Historical & Comparative |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |