The Origins of Grammar: Language in the Light of Evolution II
- ISBN-10
- 0191619930
- ISBN-13
- 9780191619939
- Series
- The Origins of Grammar
- Category
- Language Arts & Disciplines
- Pages
- 808
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2011-09-22
- Publisher
- OUP Oxford
- Author
- James R. Hurford
Description
This is the second of the two closely linked but self-contained volumes that comprise James Hurford's acclaimed exploration of the biological evolution of language. In the first book he looked at the evolutionary origins of meaning, ending as our distant ancestors were about to step over the brink to modern language. He now considers how that step might have been taken and the consequences it undoubtedly had. The capacity for language lets human beings formulate and express an unlimited range of propositions about real or fictitious worlds. It allows them to communicate these propositions, often overlaid with layers of nuance and irony, to other humans who can then interpret and respond to them. These processes take place at breakneck speed. Using a language means learning a vast number of arbitrary connections between forms and meanings and rules on how to manipulate them, both of which a normal human child can do in its first few years of life. James Hurford looks at how this miracle came about. The book is divided into three parts. In the first the author surveys the syntactic structures evident in the communicative behaviour of animals, such as birds and whales, and discusses how vocabularies of learned symbols could have evolved and the effects this had on human thought. In the second he considers how far the evolution of grammar depended on biological or cultural factors. In the third and final part he describes the probable route by which the human language faculty and languages evolved from simple beginnings to their present complex state.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2011-09-22
- 791 pages
- Paperback
- Oxford University Press
-
- 2010-09-23
- 180 pages
- Paperback
- Bloomsbury Publishing
-
- 2010-07-22
- 192 pages
- Ebook
- Bloomsbury Publishing
-
- 1999
- 230 pages
- Paperback
- MIT Press
Similar books
-
The Origins of Grammar: Evidence from Early Language Comprehension
By Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Roberta M. GolinkoffThis book brings together investigations from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds to examine how young children acquire the vocabulary of their native tongue with such rapidity and with virtually no errors along the way.
-
Origins of Language: A Slim Guide
By James R. HurfordThis book offers an accessible overview of what is known about the evolution of the human capacity for language and what sets human language apart from the simple communication systems used by non-human animals.
-
The Origins and Development of the English Language
By Thomas PylesThe Origins and Development of the English Language
-
Origins of Language: A Slim Guide
By James R. HurfordOrigins of Language: A Slim Guide offers a concise and accessible overview of what is known about the evolution of the human capacity for language.
-
Origins of the English Language, a Social and Linguistic History
By Joseph M. WilliamsOrigins of the English Language, a Social and Linguistic History
-
The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language
By Christine KenneallyAn accessible exploration of a burgeoning new field: the incredible evolution of language The first popular book to recount the exciting, very recent developments in tracing the origins of language, The First Word is at the forefront of a ...
-
The Origins and Development of the English Language
By John Algeo, Thomas PylesThe fourth edition of The Origins and Development of the English Language continues to focus on the internal history of English -- its sounds, grammar, and vocabulary. In organization, the...
-
Origins of Language: Constraints on hypotheses
By Sverker JohanssonThis is a book for the student or researcher who prefers solid data and well-supported conclusions, over speculative scenarios.
-
The Origins of Meaning: Language in the Light of Evolution
By James R. Hurford, James Raymond HurfordRitchie, G. R. S. and S. Kirby (2007). A possible role for selective masking in the evolution of complex, learned communication systems. In C. Lyon, C. Nehaniv, and A. Cangelosi (eds.), The Emergence and Evolution of Linguistic ...
-
The Theory of Language: Part I. of the Origin and General Nature of Speech. Part Ii. of Universal Grammar -...
By James BeattieThis is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.