The Origins of Language: An Introduction to Evolutionary Linguistics

Roughly eight million years ago, a branch of hominids from the forests of East Africa started to adapt to the drier environment created by the East African Rift System. A host of physical developments culminated in the brains of early humans increasing dramatically in size and cognitive power. Aided by a unique social organisation, communication signals became conventionalized and passed on from generation to generation through imitation and learning. But language is not only used to interact with our fellow beings. It is also closely connected to our thoughts. This makes language a biological, social, cultural and cognitive phenomenon all at once. What precise role did each of these aspects play in the origin of language and how were they all coordinated to produce the most sophisticated communication system in the animal kingdom? This book aims to answer these questions and open up the fascinating world of evolutionary linguistics. It should not only appeal to students of linguistics and related fields (e.g. psychology, anthropology, cognitive science) but also to anyone with an interest in language, language learning and communication. Also ideal for advanced students of English as a Foreign Language.