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Language Evolution

edited by Morten H. Christiansen and Simon Kirby

- a collection of essays on the origins and evolution of language by scholars from a range of fields, including linguistics, archaeology, cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology and biology. Discusses the latest theories and current controveries.

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The Seeds of Speech

by Jean Aitchinson

- explores the origins of human language and how it evolved, looking for possible precursors to language in animal communication.

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From Lucy to Language

by Donald Johanson

- an illustrated introduction to paleoanthropology.

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The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language

by John McWhorter

- explores the ways in which languages change, intertwine and disappear. Explains how a single original language developed into the 6,000 or so languages spoken today. Compares linguistic change to biological evolution.

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Approaches to the Evolution of Language

by James R. Hurford et al

- examines language from a neo-Darwinian point of view with contributions from linguists, psychologists, and paleoanthropologists.

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The Origin of Language : Tracing the Evolution of the Mother Tongue

by Merritt Ruhlen

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The Atlas of Languages: The Origin and Development of Languages Throughout the World

by Bernard Comrie, Stephen Matthews and Maria Polinsky (Editors)

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From Hand to Mouth : The Origins of Language

by Michael C. Corballis

- the central theory of this book is that human language started with gestures then later evolved into speech.

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Grooming, Gossip and the Evolution of Language

by Robin Dunbar

- argues confincingly that language is the human equivalent of grooming in other apes and monkeys, and that it evolved to enable us to cope with larger group sizes. Very interesting.

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