1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910821813303321

Autore

Burling Robbins

Titolo

The talking ape [[electronic resource] ] : how language evolved / / Robbins Burling

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Oxford ; ; New York, : Oxford University Press, 2007

ISBN

1-383-04245-4

1-4294-2190-8

9786610758210

0-19-150918-3

1-280-75821-X

0-19-153545-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (503 p.)

Collana

Studies in the evolution of language ; ; 5

Classificazione

17.12

Disciplina

401

Soggetti

Language and languages - Origin

Linguistics

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Originally published: 2005.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 251-268) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; Dedication; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. In The Beginning; 2. Smiles, Winks, and Words; 3. Truths and Lies; 4. The Mind and Language; 5. Signs and Symbols; 6. Icons Gained and Icons Lost; 7. From A Few Sounds to Many Words; 8. Syntax: Wired and Learned; 9. Step-By-Step to Grammar; 10. Power, Gossip, and Seduction; 11. What has Language Done To Us?; Notes; Glossary; Bibliography; Index

Sommario/riassunto

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