The Origins of Grammar: An Anthropological Perspective

Cover Page......Page 1
Title Page......Page 4
ISBN 9781441170989......Page 5
Contents......Page 8
Acknowledgements......Page 12
1 Why All the Fuss?......Page 14
The Problem of Brainpower......Page 15
Two Legs, Two Hands......Page 16
Making Tools......Page 17
Hunting and Culture......Page 19
Language: the final frontier?......Page 21
The Genetic Problem of Language......Page 23
What Is Language for?......Page 25
Mapping the Journey......Page 26
2 The Story So Far......Page 28
Language Is Tool Use......Page 29
Language Is Play......Page 30
Language Is a Signal of Fitness......Page 31
Language Is Gestural......Page 34
Language Is Cognition......Page 35
Language Is Social Construction......Page 37
Language Just Is......Page 38
3 The Heavy Hand of Generative Linguistics......Page 40
Linguistic Structure......Page 41
Extending Structure......Page 42
Principles and Parameters......Page 43
Small Is Beautiful......Page 45
Generative Origins......Page 46
Is Generative Grammar an Inimical Environment for Language Origins?......Page 49
A System of Functions......Page 51
Systemic Functional Grammar......Page 52
Other Views on Functional Grammar......Page 55
Grammar without Tiers?......Page 57
Linear Grammars......Page 58
Functionalism and the Origins of Grammar......Page 60
A Short History of Cognitive Linguistics......Page 62
The Nature of Cognitive Linguistics......Page 64
Embodiment......Page 67
The Modularity Debate......Page 68
The Nature of Cognitive Grammar......Page 70
Cognitive Linguistics and Language Origins......Page 71
6 Being Human......Page 74
Physical Differences......Page 75
Manual Dexterity Is Social Dexterity?......Page 76
Working Together......Page 77
The Problem of Culture......Page 79
The Costs of Reproduction......Page 80
Beating the Cheats......Page 82
Making Models......Page 83
7 The Weirdness of Self......Page 85
Planning and Modelling......Page 86
The Self and Language......Page 88
Selfishness and Self-awareness......Page 89
Four Selves......Page 92
Awareness of Self......Page 93
8 How Did We Come to Be Human?......Page 95
Altruistic Punishment......Page 96
Metaphor in Cognition......Page 97
THE GROUP IS AN ENTITY......Page 98
Where Does the GROUP Come from?......Page 99
Altruistic Punishment as an Engine of Socialization......Page 101
THE GROUP IS AN ENTITY: building social structures......Page 102
THE GROUP IS AN ENTITY: an ancient metaphor?......Page 103
What Happened, and When?......Page 104
9 How Did We Come to Use Grammar?......Page 106
Grammaticalization......Page 107
Grammaticalization and Language Origins......Page 109
Overture and Beginners, Please......Page 110
Not Required at the Origin of Grammar......Page 113
Becoming Complex......Page 114
From Non-grammar to Grammar......Page 115
10 What Nonhumans Tell Us about Being Human......Page 117
Animals and Grammar......Page 118
Primate, Know Thyself......Page 119
Multiple Intelligences......Page 120
Accommodating Others......Page 121
Empathy......Page 123
Not about Language?......Page 124
11 What Young Humans Tell Us about Being Human......Page 128
Children and Language Origins......Page 129
Children and Co-operation......Page 131
Children and Selfhood......Page 134
Children and Language......Page 136
12 What Time Tells Us about Being Human......Page 138
Getting Tense......Page 139
Doing Other Things with Time......Page 141
Adding Depth......Page 142
Time, Uncertainty and Fiction......Page 143
Becoming Time-aware......Page 144
Three Time Points, Three Voices?......Page 145
Time and Being Human......Page 146
13 The Evolution of Grammar......Page 148
Basic Communication......Page 149
Social Modelling......Page 150
Uttering Language......Page 151
What Language Did Next......Page 153
Becoming Myself......Page 154
Are There Grammar Universals?......Page 156
And Finally......Page 157
References......Page 160
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C......Page 183
D......Page 184
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M......Page 188
P......Page 189
R......Page 190
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U......Page 192
Z......Page 193