{"product_id":"the-social-origins-of-language-robert-seyfarth-9780691177236","title":"The Social Origins of Language","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow human language evolved from the need for social communication\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe origins of human language remain hotly debated. Despite growing appreciation of cognitive and neural continuity between humans and other animals, an evolutionary account of human language--in its modern form--remains as elusive as ever. \u003ci\u003eThe Social Origins of Language\u003c\/i\u003e provides a novel perspective on this question and charts a new path toward its resolution. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn the lead essay, Robert Seyfarth and Dorothy Cheney draw on their decades-long pioneering research on monkeys and baboons in the wild to show how primates use vocalizations to modulate social dynamics. They argue that key elements of human language emerged from the need to decipher and encode complex social interactions. In other words, social communication is the biological foundation upon which evolution built more complex language. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSeyfarth and Cheney's argument serves as a jumping-off point for responses by John McWhorter, Ljiljana Progovac, Jennifer E. Arnold, Benjamin Wilson, Christopher I. Petkov and Peter Godfrey-Smith, each of whom draw on their respective expertise in linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy, and psychology. Michael Platt provides an introduction, Seyfarth and Cheney a concluding essay. Ultimately, \u003ci\u003eThe Social Origins of Language\u003c\/i\u003e offers thought-provoking viewpoints on how human language evolved.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Robert Seyfarth, Dorothy Cheney\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691177236\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691177236\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/05\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 184\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.60h x 5.70w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2018","brand":"Robert Seyfarth","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43946956325119,"sku":"9780691177236","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_33c96d50-a070-47fc-b256-c63de14f2c52.jpg?v=1681515896","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-social-origins-of-language-robert-seyfarth-9780691177236","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}