[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-41033-en":3,"doc-seo-41033-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":92},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},41033,687197207919,"Theodora","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/a000253d6f5f7c60be?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1779446848396160552",8,"Research & Report","The Evolution of Language","Language is presented as the defining human communication system and a key unsolved problem in human history: how and why language evolved in our species rather than others. The text frames the subject through Darwinian evolution and surveys a broad interdisciplinary research landscape, then organizes the literature into clear themes, from biological perspectives and evolutionary debate to ancestral links, the evolution of speech and vocal control, and methods for evaluating phylogenetic models. It culminates in conclusions and future prospects, supported by references and indexes.","This page intentionally left blank  \nThe Evolution of Language  \nLanguage, more than anything else, is what makes us human. It appears that no communication system of equivalent power exists elsewhere in the animal kingdom. Any normal human child will learn a language based on rather sparse data in the surrounding world, while even the brightest chimpanzee, exposed to the same environment, will not. Why not? How, and why, did language evolve in our species and not in others? Since Darwin’s theory of evolution, questions about the origin of language have generated a rapidly growing scientific literature, stretched across a number of disciplines, much ofit directed at specialist audiences. The diversity of perspectives – from linguistics, anthropology, speech science, genetics, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology– can be bewildering. Covering diverse and fascinating topics, from Kaspar Hauser to Clever Hans, Tecumseh Fitch provides a clear and comprehensible guide to this vast literature, bringing together its most important insights to explore one of the biggest unsolved puzzles of human history.  \nw. tecumsehfitch is Professor of Cognitive Biology atthe University of Vienna. He studies the evolution of cognition and communication in animals and man, focusing on the evolution of speech, music, and language. He is interested in all aspects of vocal communication in terrestrial vertebrates, particularly vertebrate vocal production in relation to the evolution of speech and music in our own species.  \nThe Evolution of Language  \nw. tecumseh fitch  \nCAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS  \nCambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo  \nCambridge University Press  \nThe Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK  \nPublished in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York  \n[www.cambridge.org](www.cambridge.org)  \nInformation on this [title: www.cambridge.org/9780521859936](title: www.cambridge.org/9780521859936)[ ](title: www.cambridge.org/9780521859936)© W. Tecumseh Fitch 2010  \nThis publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.  \nFirst published in print format ISBN-13 978-0-511-67747-2 ISBN-13 978-0-521-85993-6 ISBN-13 978-0-521-67736-3  \n2010  \neBook (NetLibrary) Hardback  \nPaperback  \nCambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.  \nDedicated to my father  \nContents  \nList of figures [page ix]  \nAcknowledgments [xi]  \nIntroduction [1]  \nsection 1 the lay of the land  \n1 Language from a biological perspective [13]  \n2 Evolution: consensus and controversy [35]  \n3 Language [73]  \n4 Animal cognition and communication [143]  \nsection 2 meet the ancestors  \n5 Meet the ancestors [205]  \n6 The LCA: our last common ancestor with chimpanzees [234]  \n7 Hominid paleontology and archaeology [250]  \nsection 3 the evolution of speech  \n8 The evolution of the human vocal tract [297]  \n9 The evolution of vocal control: the neural basis for spoken language [338]  \n10 Models of the evolution of speech and phonology [364]  \nsection 4 evaluating phylogenetic models of language evolution  \n11 Historical overview: Western theories of language origin before Darwin [389]  \nviii Contents  \n12 Lexical protolanguage [401]  \n13 Signs before speech: gestural protolanguage theories [433]  \n14 Musical protolanguage [466]  \n15 Conclusions and prospects [508]  \nGlossary [513]  \nAppendix: species names [519]  \nReferences [521]  \nAuthor index [605]  \nSubject index [607]  \nSpecies index [611]","cbCaiitwTWJ60NXl","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiitwTWJ60NXl","pdf",4306691,6,1,625,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n## Language from a biological perspective\n## Evolution: consensus and controversy\n## Language\n## Animal cognition and communication\n# Meet the ancestors\n## Meet the ancestors\n## The LCA: our last common ancestor with chimpanzees\n## Hominid paleontology and archaeology\n# The evolution of speech\n## The evolution of the human vocal tract\n## The evolution of vocal control: the neural basis for spoken language\n## Models of the evolution of speech and phonology\n# Evaluating phylogenetic models of language evolution\n## Historical overview: Western theories of language origin before Darwin\n## Lexical protolanguage\n## Signs before speech: gestural protolanguage theories\n## Musical protolanguage\n## Conclusions and prospects","[{\"question\":\"Why does language evolve in humans but not in other animals?\",\"answer\":\"The discussion centers on why no other animal communication system matches human language, and how evolutionary pressures and biological mechanisms could have shaped language development. 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It finally addresses how to evaluate phylogenetic models, including theories such as lexical, gestural, and musical protolanguage, before concluding and outlining prospects.\"}]",1783318086,1575,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":87,"head_meta":89,"extra_data":91,"updated_unix":28},"the-evolution-of-language","",{"@graph":36,"@context":86},[37,54,69],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,51],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":50},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":52,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":53},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-evolution-of-language/41033/",4,{"url":52,"name":13,"@type":55,"author":56,"headline":13,"publisher":58,"fileFormat":61,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":62,"datePublished":63,"encodingFormat":61,"isAccessibleForFree":64,"interactionStatistic":65},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":57},"Person",{"url":41,"name":59,"@type":60},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-20","2026-07-06",true,{"@type":66,"interactionType":67,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":68},"ViewAction",{"@type":70,"mainEntity":71},"FAQPage",[72,78,82],{"name":73,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":75},"Why does language evolve in humans but not in other animals?","Question",{"text":76,"@type":77},"The discussion centers on why no other animal communication system matches human language, and how evolutionary pressures and biological mechanisms could have shaped language development. It frames these questions within Darwinian evolution and ongoing scientific debate.","Answer",{"name":79,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":80},"What disciplines are used to study the origin and evolution of language?",{"text":81,"@type":77},"The content highlights perspectives spanning linguistics, anthropology, speech science, genetics, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology. It emphasizes a diverse literature and synthesizes key insights across these fields.",{"name":83,"@type":74,"acceptedAnswer":84},"How is the book organized to explain language evolution?",{"text":85,"@type":77},"The structure moves from biological foundations and evolutionary controversies to ancestral comparisons, then the evolution of speech and vocal control. 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