This book brings together, for the first time, all the major perspectives on language evolution, as represented by the various fields that have a stake in language evolution research: psycholinguistics, linguistics, psychology, primatology, philosophy, anthropology, archaeology, biology, neuroscience, neuropsychology, neurophysiology, cognitive science, and computational linguistics. The chapters are written by the key authorities in each area, and together they cast the brightest light yet on questions surrounding the origin and evolution of language. Topics range from the possible genetic...

This book brings together, for the first time, all the major perspectives on language evolution, as represented by the various fields that have a stake in language evolution research: psycholinguistics, linguistics, psychology, primatology, philosophy, anthropology, archaeology, biology, neuroscience, neuropsychology, neurophysiology, cognitive science, and computational linguistics. The chapters are written by the key authorities in each area, and together they cast the brightest light yet on questions surrounding the origin and evolution of language. Topics range from the possible genetic bases of language and the application of mathematical game theory to language evolution, to grammatical assimilation from the viewpoint of computational linguistics, the role of cultural transmission (learning) in explaining language evolution, the different origins of symbols and grammar, and the gestural origins of language.