TY  - BOOK
AU  - Aitchison, Jean
TI  - The Seeds of Speech: : Language Origin and Evolution
SN  - 978-0-521-78571-6
U1  - 401 23
PY  - 2000///
CY  - New York
PB  - Cambridge University Press
N1  - 1. A natural curiosity: how did language begin?
2. A peculiar habit: what is language for?
3. The bother at Babel: why do languages differ so much?
4. Distinct duties: is language an independent skill?
Part II. Origin:
5. The family tree: the evolutionary background
6. A devious mind: the basic requirements
7. Broken air: inherited ingredients
8. Small beginnings: first steps
Part III. Evolution:
9. The secong word: the emergence of rules
10. The tower of speech: expansion
11. Time travelling: extra attachments
12. Rebuilding on the high seas: keeping going
Part IV. Diffusion:
13. The widening circle: moving outwards
14. The hidden core: the hunt for universals
15. The real magician: ruling the rules
16. Unweaving the rainbow: separating the strands
17. The endless stair: past and future
Symbols used in the text
Notes and suggestions for further reading
References
Index
N2  - 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.

Jean Aitchison has published widely on topics relating to human language and is well-known for her accessible, non-technical writing style; her books are widely read outside academia
Huge interest in the origin and evolution of language; this book pulls together the evidence (linguistic, anthropological, psychological, sociological) more extensively than any other
Pre-Canto edition of this book has sold well; publishing in Canto should widen readership still further
ER  -