New Essays on the Origin of Language.

Intro -- Introduction: New perspectives on an old academic question -- 1. Biological aspects of the question -- On the subcortical bases of the evolution of language -- Origin of the human language faculty: the language amoeba hypothesis -- 2. The first language -- The apparent paradox of language evolution: can Universal Grammar be explained by adaptive selection? -- Elementary forms of linguistic organisation -- From potential to realisation: an episode in the origin of language -- Protothought had no logical names -- The birth of rules -- How language changed the genes: toward an explicit account of the evolution of language -- 3. Beyond biolinguistics -- The narration "instinct": signalling behaviour, communication, and the selective value of storytelling -- Taxonomic controversies in the twentieth century -- The origin of origins: a play in five acts, with a prologue im Himmel and an epilogue auf der Erde -- References -- Index.

The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks as well as studies that provide new insights by building bridges to neighbouring fields such as neuroscience and cognitive science. The series considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.