Language And Species

Language and Species presents the most detailed and well-documented scenario to date of the origins of language.

"Language and Species" presents the most detailed and well-documented scenario to date of the origins of language. Drawing on "living linguistic fossils" such as "ape talk," the "two-word" stage of small children, and pidgin languages, and on recent discoveries in paleoanthropology, Bickerton shows how a primitive "protolanguage" could have offered "Homo erectus" a novel ecological niche. He goes on to demonstrate how this protolanguage could have developed into the languages we speak today.
"You are drawn into Bickerton's] appreciation of the dominant role language plays not only in what we say, but in what we think and, therefore, what we are."--Robert Wright, "New York Times Book Review"
"The evolution of language is a fascinating topic, and Bickerton's "Language and Species" is the best introduction we have."--John C. Marshall, "Nature"