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Oxford Studies in the Evolution of Language

Why We Talk: The Evolutionary Origins of Language

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Constant exchange of information is integral to our societies. Jean-Louis Dessalles explores how this came into being. He develops a view of language as an instrument for conversation rather than mental representation and thought. Presenting language evolution as a natural history of conversation, the author sheds light on the emergence of communication in the hominine congregations, as well as on the human nature.

400 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2007

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Jean-Louis Dessalles

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1,162 reviews24 followers
October 12, 2019
Strong start (chapters 1-5) and ending (chapters 16-18), part II on semantics and protolanguage, I found less interesting.

See Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/wilte/status/1178...

Biology makes me tweet (is one of the conclusions of this book)
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