Language Evolution and Computation Bibliography

This article explains the evolution of capacity for learning a language in the human species. Several essential cognitive capacities had to be developed before language could even begin. First, language rests on a rich conceptual system. One must be able to perceive patterns in the objects and events around in order to learn a word or to use. One must learn arbitrary associations between vocalizations or gestures and concepts to understand or to use even isolated words. A typical word in any human language that is used today is a conventional three-way association between a meaning, a distinctive sound sequence and a characteristic set of syntactic roles. The ability to make arbitrary associations between meanings and either sound or gestures is not quite limited to human beings. When coached by humans, dogs can learn to respond to several hand signals or spoken commands, and apes can do much better than dogs, but no animal can learn words with the voracious ease of human beings. Language must have begun with the ability to associate gestures or vocalizations with concepts, and to use these vocalizations or gestures as a means of sharing our concepts with others. The brains have evolved over the years to store a huge number of words.

Humans never run out of things to say. We explain, we cajole, we gossip, and we flirt--all with the help of language. But how in the space of several million years did we evolve from an ordinary primate that that could not talk to the strange human primate that can't shut up? In this fascinating, thought-provoking book, Robbins Burling presents the most convincing account of the origins of language ever published, shedding new light on how speech affects the way we think, behave, and relate to each other, and offering us a deeper understanding of the nature of language itself. Burling argues that comprehension, rather than production, was the driving force behind the evolution of language--we could understand words before we could produce them. As he develops this insight, he investigates the first links between signs, sounds, and meanings and explores the beginnings of vocabulary and grammar. He explains what the earliest forms of communication are likely to have been, how they worked, and why they were deployed, suggesting that when language began it was probably much more dependent on words like 'poke' or 'whoosh,' words whose sounds have a close association with what they refer to. Only gradually did language develop the immense vocabulary it has today. Burling also examines the qualities of mind and brain needed to support the operations of language and the selective advantages they offered those able to use them. Written in a crystal-clear style, constantly enlivened by flashes of wit and humor, here is the definitive account on the birth of language.

Table of Contents

1. In The Beginning
2. Smiles, Winks, and Words
3. Truths and Lies
4. The Mind and Language
5. Signs and Symbols
6. Icons Gained and Icons Lost
7. From A Few Sounds To Many Words
8. Syntax: Wired and Learned
9. Step By Step To Grammar
10. Power, Gossip, and Seduction
11. What Has Language Done To Us?