The Seeds of Speech: Language Origin and Evolution (Canto) by Jean Aitchison

Author: Jean Aitchison
eBook Title: The Seeds of Speech: Language Origin and Evolution (Canto)
ISBN10: 0521785715
ISBN13: 978-0521785716
Language: English
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 8, 2000)
Category: Reference
Subcategory: Words, Language & Grammar
Size ePub vers.: 1734 kb
Size PDF vers.: 1261 kb
Other formats: cb7, odf, pdf, azw, ibooks, mobi
Rating: 4.9
Votes: 387
Pages:

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 prehistoric jigsaw puzzle, in which numerous fragments of evidence must be assembled. Such evidence is pieced together from a mixture of linguistic and nonlinguistic sources such as evolution theory, archaeology, psychology, and anthropology. This is an accessible and wide-ranging introduction to the origins and evolution of human language.