Evolution of Language

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses language acquisition and the evolution of language, describing models that have been proposed for the evolutionary development of the human language faculty and for the processes involved, with some empirical support for the different models. The paper concludes that the issue remains unresolved as far as deciding on one specific model over all others.

From the Paper:

"Language acquisition has been much studied as to ways in which speakers learn language in the first place, then learn other languages if they do and add words to their store of knowledge as an ongoing process. Another issue has been the origins of language of any sort, extending back as far in the historical record as possible and then considering how human beings may have first started communicating using a language. Different models have been proposed for the evolutionary development of the human language faculty and for the processes involved, with some empirical support for the different models. The issue remains unresolved as far as deciding on one specific model over all others. One view of the origin of language is discussed by Hewes 1992 and the idea that the first human language was primarily gestural, following the way various primates communicate (1992:65)."

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