The Evolution of Human Language: Biolinguistic Perspectives

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511817755

The way language as a human faculty has evolved is a question that preoccupies researchers from a wide spread of disciplines. In this book, a team of writers has been brought together to examine the evolution of language from a variety of such standpoints, including language's genetic basis, the anthropological context of its appearance, its formal structure, its relation to systems of cognition and thought, as well as its possible evolutionary antecedents. The book includes Hauser, Chomsky, and Fitch's seminal and provocative essay on the subject, 'The Faculty of Language,' and charts the progress of research in this active and highly controversial field since its publication in 2002. This timely volume will be welcomed by researchers and students in a number of disciplines, including linguistics, evolutionary biology, psychology, and cognitive science.

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv
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Contents
pp v-vi
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Figures
pp vii-vii
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Contributors
pp viii-viii
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Acknowledgments
pp ix-x
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Introduction
pp 1-13
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1 - The faculty of language: what is it, who has it, and how did it evolve?
pp 14-42
- By Marc D. Hauser, Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Noam Chomsky, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, W. Tecumseh Fitch, Department of Neurobiology and Cognition, University of Vienna
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Part I - Language architecture
pp 43-44
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2 - Some simple evo devo theses: how true might they be for language?
pp 45-62
- By Noam Chomsky, Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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3 - Your theory of language evolution depends on your theory of language
pp 63-72
- By Ray Jackendoff, Department of Philosophy, Tufts University, Medford
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4 - Three meanings of “recursion”: key distinctions for biolinguistics
pp 73-90
- By W. Tecumseh Fitch, Department of Neurobiology and Cognition, University of Vienna
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5 - On obfuscation, obscurantism, and opacity: evolving conceptions of the faculty of language
pp 91-100
- By Marc D. Hauser, Department of Psychology, Harvard University
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Part II - Language and interface systems
pp 101-102
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6 - Prospection as a cognitive precursor to symbolic communication
pp 103-114
- By Peter Gärdenfors, Lund University Cognitive Science, Mathias Osvath, Lund University Cognitive Science
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7 - Did language evolve before speech?
pp 115-123
- By Michael C. Corballis, Department of Psychology, University of Auckland
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8 - A pragmatic perspective on the evolution of language
pp 124-132
- By Dan Sperber, Institut Jean Nicod, Paris, Gloria Origgi, Institut Jean Nicod, Paris
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Part III - Biological and neurological foundations
pp 133-134
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9 - Plasticity and canalization in the evolution of linguistic communication: an evolutionary developmental approach
pp 135-147
- By Daniel Dor, Department of Communication, Tel-Aviv University, Eva Jablonka, Cohn Institute for the History of Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities, Tel Aviv University
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10 - What is language, that it may have evolved, and what is evolution, that it may apply to language
pp 148-162
- By Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini, Department of Linguistics, Department of Psychology, and Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona
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11 - The creative capacity of language, in what manner is it unique, and who had it?
pp 163-175
- By Philip Lieberman, Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences, Brown University, Providence
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12 - Genetics and the evolution of language: what genetic studies reveal about the evolution of language
pp 176-190
- By Karin Stromswold, Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick
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Part IV - Anthropological context
pp 191-192
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13 - A putative role for language in the origin of human consciousness
pp 193-198
- By Ian Tattersall, Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
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14 - On two incompatible theories of language evolution
pp 199-210
- By Derek Bickerton, Department of Linguistics, University of Hawaii at Manoa
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15 - On the evolution of language: implications of a new and general theory of human origins, properties, and history
pp 211-224
- By Paul M. Bingham, Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology and College of Human Development, Stony Brook University, New York
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Notes
pp 225-231
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References
pp 232-262
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Index
pp 263-269
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The Evolution of Human Language

Biolinguistic Perspectives

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