This book considers language within the framework of modern evolutionary theory, emphasising its social bases.

Language, more than anything else, is what makes us human. It appears that no communication system of equivalent power exists elsewhere in the animal kingdom. A

Human language is not the same as human speech. We use gestures and signs to communicate alongside, or instead of, speaking. Yet gestures and speech are process

Leading scholars present critical accounts of every aspect of the field, including work in animal behaviour; anatomy, genetics and neurology; the prehistory of

This major new work explores the development of creoles and other new languages, focusing on the conceptual and methodological issues they raise for genetic lin