The Talking Ape: How Language Evolved

by Robbins Burling

Overview

In this mind-opening book, Robbins Burling presents the most convincing - and the most readable - account of the origins of language yet 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. He offers a new account of the route by which we acquired our defining characteristic and explores the changing nature of language as it developed through the course of our evolution. He considers 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 advantages they offered for survival and reproduction. He investigates the beginnings and prehistories of vocabulary and grammar; and connects work in fields extending from linguistics, sign languages, and psychology to palaeontology, evolutionary biology, and archaeology. And he does all this in a style that is crystal-clear, constantly enlivened by wit and humour.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191509186
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	03/08/2007
Series:	Studies in the Evolution of Language
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Robbins Burling is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Linguistics at the University of Michigan and has long been interested in language, and human evolution. His books include Hill Farms and Padi Fields: Life in Mainland Southeast Asia, The Passage of Power, Patterns of Language, and The Strong Women of Modhupur.

Table of Contents

	Preface	vii
	Acknowledgements	ix
1	In the beginning	1
2	Smiles, winks, and words	23
3	Truths and lies	48
4	The mind and language	65
5	Signs and symbols	92
6	Icons gained and icons lost	105
7	From a few sounds to many words	122
8	Syntax: wired and learned	145
9	Step-by-step to grammar	164
10	Power, gossip, and seduction	181
11	What has language done to us?	210
	Notes	234
	Glossary	246
	Bibliography	251
	Index	269

Editorial Reviews

"This book contains some good sense, as well as providing a broad overview of the field." —Language

"A fascinating book on the origins of language, how speech affects the way we think, behave, and relate, and how the ape that preceded us learned to talk. This is an important and informative book." —Journal of American Culture

"Burling brings together a wide array of relevant material as well as pertinent contributions from his own fieldwork. The book provides thorough coverage of the topic and the debates surrounding it and is written in a personalized, conversational style that makes for entertaining as well as thought provoking reading. Regardless of one's own area of specialization or personal viewpoint on the various debates, the book is engaging reading because Robbins Burling's passion for his topic shines through." —American Journal of Physical Anthropology

From the Publisher