Eve Spoke: Human Language and Human Evolution

“This book is about language and its evolution, yet it also is an adventure in learning about the human brain and how it works. The mystery of how speech organs make sounds is exposed, as is the incredible cognitive processing that is needed to produce or decode language as we know it. . . . A fascinating discourse.” ―Chris Boehm, University of Southern California Eve Spoke presents a compelling case for the pivotal role that speech has played in human language and human evolution. Wrestling with the age-old question of why such a large gulf exists between humans and other animals, Philip Lieberman mines both the fossil record and modern neuro-scientific techniques to chart the development of the anatomy and brain mechanisms necessary for human language as we know it. Eschewing any notion of a language gene or instinct, he pursues instead an evolutionary path in which environment acts on a biological capacity to reveal the interconnectedness of systems that make us most human: precise motor skills, speech, language, and complex thought. Lieberman interweaves decades of research in anthropology, neuroscience, psychology and linguistics into his exposition on the evolution of human speech.