The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language @ richardeward.com

The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language
by Christine Kenneally
from Viking Adult

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Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

• Very Informative and Approachable
  I thought this was a very fair and balanced approach to the biological and social history behind the development of human language. Though it does not draw any particular conclusions, it presents the reader with several well researched expert opinions on the subject and makes heavy use of science as backup. I am sure it wasn't the absolute authority on the subject of evolutionary linguistics, and there may well be some issues with the book, but I thought it was a great and approachable read for those of us... more info

• The Search is the Thing
  The key word in the title of this book is "search." No one knows much about the evolution of the capacity for language in humans, and even the current state of the capacity is the subject of fundamental debate. Kenneally is best at describing the history and sociology of the conflicting parties to the debate. In the process, the reader will learn a good deal about the structure of the human brain, the nature of adaptation in evolutionary theory, the physiology of sound production, the relationship between... more info

• difficult read; don't try to read on vacation (as I did)
  this was a tough read; I had to force myself to pick it up each time; tough read while on vacation (and I'm a neurologist interested in language...)

• Serendipitous reading
  I expected to learn about various theories on the origins of language, but the book does not contain much on this subject. Instead, it introduces the environment in which such theories may flourish, and it does it very well : the author has a great talent for writing about science and scientists, and this suffices to make the book an interesting reading.
  As for the origins od language, I'll have to continue to rely on "The Singing Neanderthals" by Steven Mithen, and chapter 8 of Jackendoff's... more info

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