num_pages: 296
description: Human language is a weird communication system: it has more in common with birdsong than with the 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 nonlinguistic sources such as evolution theory, archaeology, psychology, and anthropology. This is an accessible and wide-ranging introduction to the origins and evolution of human language.
language: English
title: The Seeds of Speech: Language Origin and Evolution
titlecomplete: The Seeds of Speech: Language Origin and Evolution (Canto)
genres: Anthropology, Science, Language, Linguistics, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 91
series: Cambridge Approaches to Linguistics
publisher: Cambridge University Press