The Talking Ape : How Language Evolved

Robbins Burling

ISBN 10: 0199214034 / ISBN 13: 9780199214037

Published by OUP Oxford, 2007

About this Item

nach der Bestellung gedruckt Neuware - Printed after ordering - In this fascinating, mind-opening book, Robbins Burling presents the most convincing account of the origins of language ever published. He sheds new light on how language affects the way we think, behave, and relate to each other; and he gives us a deeper understanding of the nature of language itself.The author traces language back to its earliest origins among our distant ape-like forbears several million years ago and charts its growth to the time of our recent human ancestors. He offers a new account of the route by which we acquired our defining characteristic and explores the nature of language as it developed throughout the course of our evolution. He explains what the earliest forms of communication are likely to have been, how they worked, and why they were deployed. He examines the qualities of mind and brain needed to support the operations of language and the selective advantages they offered those able to use them. Robbins Burling investigates the first links between signs, sounds, and meanings and explores the beginnings and prehistories of vocabulary and grammar. He connects work in fields extending from linguistics, sign languages, and psychology to human paleontology, evolutionary biology, and archeology. And he does all this in a crystal-clear style, constantly enlivened by flashes of wit and humor.

Seller Inventory # 9780199214037

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Talking Ape : How Language Evolved
• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0199214034
• ISBN 13: 9780199214037
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 198W x 129H x 16D millimeters 198 millimeters width by 129 millimeters height by 16 millimeters depth
• Weight: 319 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Humans never run out of things to say. We explain, we cajole, we gossip, and we flirt--all with the help of language. But how in the space of several million years did we evolve from an ordinary primate that that could not talk to the strange human primate that can't shut up?
In this fascinating, thought-provoking book, Robbins Burling presents the most convincing account of the origins of language ever published, shedding new light on how speech affects the way we think, behave, and relate to each other, and offering us a deeper understanding of the nature of language itself. Burling argues that comprehension, rather than production, was the driving force behind the evolution of language--we could understand words before we could produce them. As he develops this insight, he investigates the first links between signs, sounds, and meanings and explores the beginnings of vocabulary and grammar. He explains what the earliest forms of communication are likely to have been, how they worked, and why they were deployed, suggesting that when language began it was probably much more dependent on words like "poke" or "whoosh," words whose sounds have a close association with what they refer to. Only gradually did language develop the immense vocabulary it has today. Burling also examines the qualities of mind and brain needed to support the operations of language and the selective advantages they offered those able to use them.
Written in a crystal-clear style, constantly enlivened by flashes of wit and humor, here is the definitive account on the birth of language.

About the Author

Robbins Burling is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Linguistics at the University of Michigan.