On the Origin of Language (Classic Reprint) - Hardcover

W. H. I. Bleek

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0331231263 ISBN 13: 9780331231267

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2018

Synopsis

How language began and why it matters to human thought

A scholarly exploration that traces the origins of language from primitive sounds to complex speech, offering a broad view that connects linguistics, anthropology, and the natural history of humanity. Based on a pioneering study, this edition presents a rigorous look at how people first expressed feelings with sounds and how those sounds evolved into the words and structures we use today.

This edition helps readers see language as part of the bigger story of human development. It situates linguistic change in a wide context, including connections to biology, archaeology, and culture, and discusses the idea that language reveals how we think.

• Learn how early sounds gave meaning and how words became fixed in use
• Explore the relationship between language and human development, from feeling to concepts
• See how philology and natural science can illuminate the origin of speech
• Understand why a universal view of language helps explain linguistic diversity

Ideal for readers curious about language, evolution, and the deep questions about how humans communicate and think.

About this title

About the Author

Haeckel was Professor of Zoology in Jena, Germany.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0331231263
• ISBN 13: 9780331231267
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 73