Language Origins Perspectives on Evolution [Hardcover]

This book addresses central questions in the evolution of language: where it came from; how and why it evolved; how it came to be culturally transmitted; and how languages diversified. It does so from the perspective of the latest work in linguistics, neuroscience, psychology, and computer science, and deploys the latest methods and theories to probe into the origins and subsequent development of the only species that has languages.

1. Introduction
PART I Evolution of Speech and Speech Sounds: How did spoken language emerge?
Introduction to Part I: How did links between perception and production emerge for spoken language?,Michael Studdert-Kennedy
2. The Mirror System Hypothesis: How did protolanguage evolve?,Michael Arbib
3. How Did Language go Discrete?,Michael Studdert-Kennedy
4. From Holistic to Discrete Speech Sounds: The blind snowflake maker hypothesis,Pierre-Yves Oudeyer
5. Infant-Directed Speech and Evolution of Language,Bart de Boer
PART II Evolution of Grammar: How did syntax and morphology emerge?
Introduction to Part II: Protolanguage and the Development of Complexity,Maggie Tallerman
6. Initial Syntax and Modern Syntax: Did the clause evolve from the syllable?,Maggie Tallerman
7. The Potential Role of Production in the Evolution of Syntax,Dana McDaniel
8. The Evolutionary Origin of Morphology,Andrew Carstairs-McCarthy
9. The Evolution of Grammatical Structures and 'Functional Need' Explanations,Bernard Comrie and Tania Kuteva
10. Deception and Mate Selection: Some implications for relevance and the evolution of language,Bradley Franks and Kate Rigby
PART III Analogous and Homologous Traits: What can we learn from other species?
Introduction to Part III: The Broadening Scope of Animal Communication Research,Alison Wray
11. An Avian PersplCë