The Seeds of Speech Language Origin and Evolution |
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| Author:
| Aitchison, Jean |
| Series title: | Canto Ser. |
| ISBN: | 978-0-521-78571-6 |
| Publication Date: | May 2000 |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press
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| Book Format: | Paperback |
| List Price: | AUD $41.95 |
Book Description:
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Human language is a weird communication system: it has more in common with birdsong than with the calls of other primates. Jean Aitchison explores the origins of human language and how it has evolved. She likens the search to a vast pre-historic jigsaw puzzle, in which numerous fragments of evidence must be assembled. Such evidence is pieced together from a mixture of linguistic and non-linguistic sources like evolution theory, archaeology, psychology, and anthropology. This is an...
More DescriptionHuman language is a weird communication system: it has more in common with birdsong than with the calls of other primates. Jean Aitchison explores the origins of human language and how it has evolved. She likens the search to a vast pre-historic jigsaw puzzle, in which numerous fragments of evidence must be assembled. Such evidence is pieced together from a mixture of linguistic and non-linguistic sources like evolution theory, archaeology, psychology, and anthropology. This is an accessible and wide-ranging introduction to the origins and evolution of human language.