Life and Language Beyond Earth

Raymond Hickey

ISBN 10: 100922641X / ISBN 13: 9781009226417

Published by Cambridge University Press Sep 2023, 2023

About this Item

This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Have you ever wondered whether we are alone in the universe, or if life forms on other planets might exist If they do exist, how might their languages have evolved Could we ever understand them, and indeed learn to communicate with them This highly original, thought-provoking book takes us on a fascinating journey over billions of years, from the formation of galaxies and solar systems, to the appearance of planets in the habitable zones of their parent stars, and then to how biology and, ultimately, human life arose on our own planet. It delves into how our brains and our language developed, in order to explore the likelihood of communication beyond Earth and whether it would evolve along similar lines. In the process, fascinating insights from the fields of astronomy, evolutionary biology, palaeoanthropology, neuroscience and linguistics are uncovered, shedding new light on life as we know it on Earth, and beyond. 695 pp. Englisch.

Seller Inventory # 9781009226417

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Life and Language Beyond Earth
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press Sep 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 100922641X
• ISBN 13: 9781009226417
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 241W x 175H x 15D millimeters 241 millimeters width by 175 millimeters height by 15 millimeters depth
• Weight: 1120 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Have you ever wondered whether we are alone in the universe, or if life forms on other planets might exist? If they do exist, how might their languages have evolved? Could we ever understand them, and indeed learn to communicate with them? This highly original, thought-provoking book takes us on a fascinating journey over billions of years, from the formation of galaxies and solar systems, to the appearance of planets in the habitable zones of their parent stars, and then to how biology and, ultimately, human life arose on our own planet. It delves into how our brains and our language developed, in order to explore the likelihood of communication beyond Earth and whether it would evolve along similar lines. In the process, fascinating insights from the fields of astronomy, evolutionary biology, palaeoanthropology, neuroscience and linguistics are uncovered, shedding new light on life as we know it on Earth, and beyond.

About the Author

Raymond Hickey is Adjunct Professor at the University of Limerick, Ireland and former Professor at the University of Duisburg and Essen, Germany. His main research interests are varieties of English, language contact, variation and change and issues in phonology. Some of his recent publications include Listening to the Past (2017), The Cambridge Handbook of Areal Linguistics (2017), English in Multilingual South Africa (2020) and The Handbook of Language Contact (2020).