Approaches to the Evolution of Language: Social and Cognitive BasesJames R. Hurford, Michael Studdert-Kennedy, Chris Knight This is one of the first systematic attempts to bring language within the neo-Darwinian framework of modern evolutionary theory. Twenty-four coordinated essays by linguists, phoneticians, anthropologists, psychologists and cognitive scientists explore the origins of the complex structure of human language, emphasizing its social (as opposed to purely practical) bases, and showing the mechanisms by which this structure emerges, is maintained, and develops. |
Contents
Grounding language function in social cognition | 9 |
On discontinuing the continuitydiscontinuity debate | 17 |
The origin of language and cognition | 30 |
Mimesis and the Executive Suite missing links in language evolution | 44 |
Ritualspeech coevolution a solution to the problem of deception | 68 |
Theory of mind and the evolution of language | 92 |
Old wives tales the gossip hypothesis and the reliability of cheap signals | 111 |
Altruism status and the origin of relevance | 130 |
Evolution of the mechanism of language output comparative neurobiology of vocal and manual communication | 222 |
Systemic constraints and adaptive change in the formation of sound structure | 242 |
The development of sound systems in human language | 265 |
Synonymy avoidance phonology and the origin of syntax | 279 |
The emergence of syntax | 299 |
On the supposed counterfunctionality of Universal Grammar some evolutionary implications | 305 |
Language evolution and the Minimalist Program the origins of syntax | 320 |
Catastrophic evolution the case for a single step from protolanguage to full human language | 341 |
The evolution of language from social intelligence | 148 |
The emergence of phonology | 169 |
Longcall structure in apes as a possible precursor for language | 177 |
Social soundmaking as a precursor to spoken language | 190 |
The particulate origins of language generativity from syllable to gesture | 202 |
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Common terms and phrases
acoustic acquisition adaptive agents animal apes argument articulation articulatory babbling basic Behavioral and Brain behaviour Bickerton biological bonobos Brain Sciences c-command calls capacity Chicago chimpanzees Chomsky cognitive communication complex computational consonants constraints context culture Darwinian distinction Dunbar emergence evidence evolution of language evolutionary evolved example females Figure genetic gestures grammar grooming hearer hierarchical hominid human language individual innate interaction language evolution learning lexical lexicon Lindblom linguistic listeners London Machiavellian Machiavellian Intelligence MacNeilage male meaning vector mechanisms Merge Michael Studdert-Kennedy monkeys motor natural selection neocortex noun phrase object origin origins of language parsing patterns perceptual phonetic phonological Pinker possible predict primate principle problem produce properties protolanguage reciprocal altruism relevant representation ritual scenario sentence sequences signals simulation social intelligence sound speaker species speech structure Studdert-Kennedy syllable syntactic syntax theory of mind tion Universal Grammar utterances values verb vocal tract vowels words