Evolutionary Linguistics (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics) - Hardcover

McMahon, April; McMahon, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521814502 ISBN 13: 9780521814508

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2012

Synopsis

How did the biological, brain and behavioural structures underlying human language evolve? When, why and where did our ancestors become linguistic animals, and what has happened since? This book provides a clear, comprehensive but lively introduction to these interdisciplinary debates. Written in an approachable style, it cuts through the complex, sometimes contradictory and often obscure technical languages used in the different scientific disciplines involved in the study of linguistic evolution. Assuming no background knowledge in these disciplines, the book outlines the physical and neurological structures underlying language systems, and the limits of our knowledge concerning their evolution. Discussion questions and further reading lists encourage students to explore the primary literature further, and the final chapter demonstrates that while many questions still remain unanswered, there is a growing consensus as to how modern human languages have arisen as systems by the interplay of evolved structures and cultural transmission.

About this title

Book Description:

How did the biological, brain and behavioural structures underlying human language evolve? When, why and where did our ancestors become linguistic animals, and what has happened since? This book provides a clear, comprehensive but lively introduction to these interdisciplinary debates.

About the Author:

April McMahon is Vice-Chancellor of Aberystwyth University.

Robert McMahon is a Research Associate in the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0521814502
• ISBN 13: 9780521814508
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 330