{"product_id":"from-signal-to-symbol-ronald-planer-9780262045971","title":"From Signal to Symbol: The Evolution of Language","description":"\u003cb\u003eA novel account of the evolution of language and the cognitive capacities on which language depends.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eFrom Signal to Symbol\u003c\/i\u003e, Ronald Planer and Kim Sterelny propose a novel theory of language: that modern language is the product of a long series of increasingly rich protolanguages evolving over the last two million years. Arguing that language and cognition coevolved, they give a central role to archaeological evidence and attempt to infer cognitive capacities on the basis of that evidence, which they link in turn to communicative capacities. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCountering other accounts, which move directly from archaeological traces to language, Planer and Sterelny show that rudimentary forms of many of the elements on which language depends can be found in the great apes and were part of the equipment of the earliest species in our lineage. After outlining the constraints a theory of the evolution of language should satisfy and filling in the details of their model, they take up the evolution of words, composite utterances, and hierarchical structure. They consider the transition from a predominantly gestural to a predominantly vocal form of language and discuss the economic and social factors that led to language. Finally, they evaluate their theory in terms of the constraints previously laid out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ronald Planer, Kim Sterelny\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0262045974\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780262045971\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e MIT Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/12\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 296\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.30w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2022","brand":"Ronald Planer","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44043437015295,"sku":"9780262045971","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_77f87173-7376-4bc3-9474-d29ccd8a4428.jpg?v=1684967146","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/from-signal-to-symbol-ronald-planer-9780262045971","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}