The Origins of Language: What Nonhuman Primates Can Tell Us

by Barbara J. King (Editor)

Overview

Is human language unique in the animal world, or does it have meaningful precursors in animal communication? In The Origins of Language, ten primatologists and paleoanthropologists conduct a comprehensive examination of the nonhuman primate data, discussing different views of what language is and suggesting how the primatological perspective can be used to fashion more rigorous theories of language origins and evolution. Together, the essays make a powerful case against the position that language is an innate biological system unique to humans and demonstrate that many aspects of language likely have a long evolutionary history-one that extends back beyond hominids to encompass our closest living relatives in the animal world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780933452596
Publisher:	School for Advanced Research Press
Publication date:	11/17/1999
Series:	School for Advanced Research Advanced Seminar Series
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.38(d)

Table of Contents

Viewed from up close - monkeys, apes and theories of language origins, Barbara J. King
motivation, conventionalization and arbitrariness in the origin of language, Robbins Burling
the game of the name - continuity and discontinuity in language origins, Iain Davidson
language evolution and expansions of multiple neurological processsing areas, Kathleen Gibson
primate social organization, vocabulary size and communication dynamics - a comparative study of Macaques, Dario Maestripieri
children's transition to language - a human model for development of the vocal repertoire in the other primate species?
ape language -between a rock and a hard place, Sue Savage-Rumbaugh
an empiricist view of language evolution and development, Charles T. Snowden
the invention and ritualization of language, Sherman Wilcox.

Editorial Reviews

Ten anthropologists trade thoughts and findings on primatology and language origins in the papers they prepared for an October 1996 seminar. Their topics include social organization, gestural repertoire size, and communication dynamics; ape language; continuity and discontinuity in language origins; and the invention and ritualization of language. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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