The Origins of Meaning (Oxford Studies in the Evolution of Language): Language in the Light of Evolution

Oxford Studies in the Evolution of Language

by James R. Hurford

In this, the first of two ground-breaking volumes on the nature of language in the light of the way it evolved, James Hurford looks at how the world first came to have a meaning in the minds of animals and how in humans this meaning eventually came to be expressed as language. He reviews a mass of evidence to show how close some animals, especially primates and more especially apes, are to the brink of human language. Apes may not talk to us but they construct rich cognitive representations of the world around them, and here, he shows, are the evolutionary seeds of abstract thought - the means of referring to objects, the memory of events, even elements of the propositional thinking philosophers have hitherto reserved for humans. What then, he asks, is the evolutionary path between the non-speaking minds of apes and our own speaking minds? Why don't apes communicate the richness of their thoughts to each other? Why do humans alone have a unique disposition to reveal their thoughts in complex detail? Professor Hurford searches a wide range of evidence for the answers to these central questions, including degrees of trust, the role of hormones, the ability to read minds, and the willingness to cooperate.

Expressing himself congenially in consistently colloquial language the author builds up a vivid picture of how mind, language, and meaning evolved over millions of years. His book is a landmark contribution to the understanding of linguistic and thinking processes, and the fullest account yet published of the evolution of language and communication.

"A wonderful read - lucid, informative, and entertaining, while at the same time never talking down to the reader by sacrificing argumentation for the sake of 'simplicity'. Likely to be heralded as the major publication dealing with language evolution to date. Frederick J. Newmeyer, University of Washington

Genres: Linguistics, Philosophy, Science, Nonfiction, Language

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 30, 2007

Reviews

[Katja · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in language evolution you cannot skip this book, the best you can do is to start with it. The amount of interdisciplinary information presented here is huge, the discussion is impressively cohesive and easy to follow. Although the book title has the word "meaning" in it, don't expect much linguistics, there is much more evidence from biology, ethology and psychology than from linguistics, and it is good so. If you are used to linguistic literature, it may be hard to recognize that too much is assumed to be given there. The truth is that, very likely, linguistics cannot afford to be as self-contained as it pretends to be. This comment relates more to the first part of the book which for me was a completely new perspective on the notion of meaning (for the reason stated above). The second part is about animal communication and there you will find the usual set of cooperation-altruism-fitness-selection-game theory stuff which is (fortunately) presented critically. The theories presented there, like inclusive fitness, sexual selection, the handicap principle, are all relevant but none decisively answers the question how come humans are so cooperative? I am very much looking forward to the second volume on the origins of grammar.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Along with McNeilage and Arbib and Tomasello, Hurford explores the inconsistencies in both linguistics and anthropology/brain science to find the roots of our projections of communication.

[Milo Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gives very in-depth and interesting insights into the origins of language. A great book for someone who is interested in language evolution and wants a book that covers a large number of theories and key research findings in the field.

[Jose Maanmieli · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are interested in the nature of language, this is the first book you should read.

[William Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book enlightening as I wrote my book on Naming. Key to names are the significance of words, so this study into language and meaning was really insightful.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, super sciency. Interesting, but my head was spinning. Good for scientists, philosophers, and very smart people.

[Bob New · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many times, the details get too deep. Not a book for a first timer.