Front Cover; Communicating Meaning: The Evolution and Development of Language; Copyright Page; Contents; Preface; 1. Language Development at the Crossroad of Biological and Cultural Interactions: Boris M. Velichkovsky; Part I: Toward a New Theoretical Foundation; 2. The Origins of Words: A Psychophysical Hypothesis: Stevan Harnad; 3. What Knowledge Must Be in the Head in Order to Acquire Language?: William Bechtel; Part II: Phylogenetic Prerequisites; 4. Was Speech an Evolutionary Afterthought?:Alexandra Maryanski
5. Prefrontal Cortex and Symbol Learning: Why a Brain Capable of Language Evolved Only Once: Terrence W. DeaconPart III: Ontogenesis of Language; 6. Origins of Communication in Infancy: Marc H. Bornstein; 7. The Temporal Organization of Language: Developmental and Neuropsychological Aspects: Angela D. Friederici; Part IV: Environment and Culture as Shaping Forces; 8. Genetic Histories and Patterns of Linguistic Change: Alberto Piazza; 9. Orality, Literacy, and Cognitive Modeling: Eckart Scheere; In Place of a Conclusion
10. Biobehavioral Roots of Language: Words, Apes, and a Child: Duane M. Rumbaugh and E. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh11. The Cultural Roots of Language: Michael Tomasello; List of Authors; Author Index; Subject Index
Summary
Dealing specifically with the origins and development of human language, this book is based on a selection of materials from a recent international conference held at the Center of Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Bielefeld in Germany. The significance of the volume is that it testifies to paradigmatic changes currently in progress. The changes are from the typical emphasis on the syntactic properties of language and cognition to an analysis of biological and cultural factors which make these formal properties possible. The chapters provide in-depth coverage of such to
