{"product_id":"the-dawn-of-language-the-story-of-how-we-came-to-talk-9781529411416","title":"The Dawn of Language: The Story of How We Came to Talk","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A model of popular-science writing\" STEVEN POOLE\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eWho was \"the first speaker\" and what was their first message?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn erudite, tightly woven and beautifully written account of one of humanity's greatest mysteries - the origins of language.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on evidence from many fields, including archaeology, anthropology, neurology and linguistics, Sverker Johansson weaves these disparate threads together to show how our human ancestors evolved into language users. \u003ci\u003eThe Dawn of Language\u003c\/i\u003e provides a fascinating survey of how grammar came into being and the differences or similarities between languages spoken around the world, before exploring how language eventually emerged in the very remote human past. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOur intellectual and physiological changes through the process of evolution both have a bearing on our ability to acquire language. But to what extent is the evolution of language dependent on genes, or on environment? How has language evolved further, and how is it changing now, in the process of globalisation? And which aspects of language ensure that robots are not yet intelligent enough to reconstruct how language has evolved? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Johansson's far-reaching, authoritative and research-based approach to language is brought to life through dozens of astonishing examples, both human and animal, in a fascinatingly erudite and entertaining volume for anyone who has ever contemplated not just why we speak the way we do, but why we speak at all. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eTranslated from the Swedish by Frank Perry\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Quercus Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/10\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781529411416\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 432","brand":"Sverker Johansson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44431895658677,"sku":"9781529411416","price":18.69,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_d48a3e54-d2fc-44d8-9d76-a7930f184123.jpg?v=1721138736","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-dawn-of-language-the-story-of-how-we-came-to-talk-9781529411416","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}