內容簡介
The Seeds of Speech:Language Origin and Evolution Human language is a weird communication system:it has more in common with birdsong than withthe calls of other primates.Jean Aitchison explores the origins of human language and how it has evolved.She likens the search to a vast prehistoric jigsaw puzzle,in which numerous fragments of evidence must be assembled.Such evidence is pieced together from a mixture of linguistic and non-linguistic sources like evolution theory,archaeology,psychology,and anthropology.The Seeds of Speech is an accessible and wide-ranging introduction to the origins and evolution of human language.
"We must be grateful to Jean Aitchison for so very readably assembling a good deal of recent work that might seem to hint at how language began...the author goes out of her way to offer a restful read to all comers."
目錄
Preface by Halliday
Preface by Chomsky
Foreword to the Canto edition
Preface
Part 1 Puzzles
1.A natural curiosity:
How did language begin?
2.A peculiar habit:
What is language for?
3.The bother at Babel:
Why do languages differ so much?
4.Distinct duties:
Is language an independent skill?
Part 2 Origin
5.The family tree:
The evolutionary background
6.A devious mind:
The basic requirements
7.Broken air:
Inherited ingredients
8.Small beginnings:
First steps
Part 3 Evolution
9.The second word:
The emergence of rules
10.The tower of speech:Expansion
11.Time travelling:
Extra attachments
12.Rebuilding on the high seas:
Keeping going
Part 4 Diffusion
13.The widening circle:
Moving outwards
14.The hidden core:
The hunt for universals
15.The real magician:
Ruling the rules
16.Unweaving the rainbow:Separating the strands
17.The endless stair:Past and future
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