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.

About the Author
Philip Lieberman is University Professor of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences at Brown University. He has written many books on the brain, evolution, and speech, and his photos are exhibited around the world.


Book Information
ISBN 9780393344790
Author Philip Lieberman
Format Paperback
Page Count 210
Imprint WW Norton & Co
Publisher WW Norton & Co