言语的萌发：语言起源与进化 英文版

　　The Seeds of Speech：Language Origin and Evolution Human language is a weird communication system：it has more in common with birdsong than withthe calls of other primates.Jean Aitchison explores the origins of human language and how it has evolved.She likens the search to a vast prehistoric jigsaw puzzle，in which numerous fragments of evidence must be assembled.Such evidence is pieced together from a mixture of linguistic and non-linguistic sources like evolution theory，archaeology，psychology，and anthropology.The Seeds of Speech is an accessible and wide-ranging introduction to the origins and evolution of human language."We must be grateful to Jean Aitchison for so very readably assembling a good deal of recent work that might seem to hint at how language began...the author goes out of her way to offer a restful read to all comers."

暂缺《言语的萌发：语言起源与进化 英文版》作者简介

Preface by Halliday
Preface by Chomsky
Foreword to the Canto edition
Preface
Part 1 Puzzles
1.A natural curiosity:
How did language begin?
2.A peculiar habit:
What is language for?
3.The bother at Babel:
Why do languages differ so much?
4.Distinct duties:
Is language an independent skill?
Part 2 Origin
5.The family tree:
The evolutionary background
6.A devious mind:
The basic requirements
7.Broken air:
Inherited ingredients
8.Small beginnings:
First steps
Part 3 Evolution
9.The second word:
The emergence of rules
10.The tower of speech:Expansion
11.Time travelling:
Extra attachments
12.Rebuilding on the high seas:
Keeping going
Part 4 Diffusion
13.The widening circle:
Moving outwards
14.The hidden core:
The hunt for universals
15.The real magician:
Ruling the rules
16.Unweaving the rainbow:Separating the strands
17.The endless stair:Past and future