Bibliograph

The social origins of language, Robert M. Seyfarth and Dorothy L. Cheney ; edited and introduced by Michael L. Platt

Type

Label

The social origins of language, Robert M. Seyfarth and Dorothy L. Cheney ; edited and introduced by Michael L. Platt

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 131-161) and index

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The social origins of language

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

983825056

Responsibility statement

Robert M. Seyfarth and Dorothy L. Cheney ; edited and introduced by Michael L. Platt

Summary

"The origins of human language remain hotly debated. Despite growing appreciation of cognitive and neural continuity between humans and other animals, an evolutionary account of human language--in its modern form--remains as elusive as ever. The Social Origins of Language provides a novel perspective on this question and charts a new path toward its resolution. In the lead essay, Robert Seyfarth and Dorothy Cheney draw on their decades-long pioneering research on monkeys and baboons in the wild to show how primates use vocalizations to modulate social dynamics. They argue that key elements of human language emerged from the need to decipher and encode complex social interactions. In other words, social communication is the biological foundation upon which evolution built more complex language. Seyfarth and Cheney's argument serves as a jumping-off point for responses by John McWhorter, Ljiljana Progovac, Jennifer E. Arnold, Christopher I. Petkov and Benjamin Wilson, and Peter Godfrey-Smith, each of whom draw on their respective expertise in linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology. Michael Platt provides an introduction, Seyfarth and Cheney a concluding essay. Ultimately, The Social Origins of Language offers thought-provoking viewpoints on how human language evolved."--Dust jacket

Table Of Contents

Introduction / Michael L. Platt -- Part 1. The social origins of language / Robert M. Seyfarth and Dorothy L. Cheney -- Part 2. Linguistics and pragmatics / John McWhorter -- Where is continuity likely to be found? / Ljiljana Progovac -- Fluency effects in human language / Jennifer E. Arnold -- Relational knowledge and the origins of language / Benjamin Wilson and Christopher I. Petkov -- Primates, cephalopods, and the evolution of communication / Peter Godfrey-Smith -- Part 3. Conclusion / Robert M. Seyfarth and Dorothy L. Cheney

Classification

Contributor

Creator