The Talking Ape: How Language Evolved

Oxford Studies in the Evolution of Language

by Robbins Burling

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.

Genres: Science, Linguistics, Language, Nonfiction, Evolution, History

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 2005

Reviews

[Alberto Tebaldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about the ability to talk as a essential step in human evolution

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear and well written. Possibly a tad repetitive sometimes. A believable and understandable theory of the evolution of language.

[Riversue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear and interesting discussion of language evolution.

[Lachlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it appeared as the fifth book in an academic series published by Oxford University Press, it would have sold well, I believe, in airport bookshops. It is extremely well written, with a wonderful mixture of a seriousness of purpose and a lightness of style, as when the author breaks off his argument to admire the "splendid string of middle initials" in the name of a Dutch primatologist. The subtitle tells what the book is about; the main title is actually rather misleading, since the author is at pains to stress how qualitatively different our language is from the calls of apes. But in an area that recently has been saturated with proposals and counter-proposals, speculations and put-downs, this book is a refreshing and very accessible presentation of a functionalist view of language evolution.

[Daniel]

This is good schtuff. If you have wondered when you watch the gorillas in the zoo what is different between us and them, this is food for such thought. There's no way not to be somewhat speculative in the argument, I guess, but the case laid out here as to why our species evolved toward the language that is now so much a part of what makes humans human is pretty compelling.

[Karl Schmiedeskamp]

This book is hard work and I have to find time and energy to read it but it is well worth it for the wealth of linguistic and evolutionary theory. I intend to read it more than once just to absorb the information.