Origins of language
Subtitle: constraints on hypotheses
By: Sverker Johansson.
Series: Converging evidence in language and communication research,; v. 5
Publisher: John Benjamins Pub.
Published: 2005
Place of publication: Amsterdam; Philadelphia
Language: eng
Number of pages: 345
Subjects: Language and languages -- Origin.; Human evolution.; Biolinguistics.
Description: "Sverker Johansson has written an unusual book on language origins, with its emphasis on empirical evidence rather than theory-building. This is a book for the student or researcher who prefers solid data and well-supported conclusions, over speculative scenarios. Much that has been written on the origins of language is characterized by hypothesizing largely unconstrained by evidence. But empirical data do exist, and the purpose of this book is to integrate and review the available evidence from all relevant disciplines, not only linguistics but also, e.g., neurology, primatology, paleoanthropology, and evolutionary biology. The evidence is then used to constrain the multitude of scenarios for language origins, demonstrating that many popular hypotheses are untenable."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 248-330) and index.