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Evolution of Language and Society This course is designed primarily to give our students a wide ranging introduction to the origins and evolution of human language. Numerous branches of study will be consulted as they provide important clues to this vast prehistoric puzzle. Such evidence will be reorganized together from a mixture of linguistic and non-linguistic sources like evolution theory, archaeology, psychology, and anthropology.
Class Procedures The class will be conducted primarily in the form of discussions. The course will provide 12 course topics and let each class participant take turns to present report and conduct a discussion session about the assigned topic. ¡@ Textbook and Reference Book Wang, William S-Y. ed. The Emergence of Language: Development and Evolution: Readings from Scientific American Magazine. 1991. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. (Textbook) Aitchison, J. The Seeds of Speech: Language Origin and Evolution. 2000. Cambridge University Press. (Reference Book) ¡@ Course Topics 1. Animal Communication 2. Teaching Language to an Ape 3. The Earliest Precursor of Writing 4. The Origins of Indo-European Languages 5. Creole Languages 6. Specializations of the Human Brain 7. Learning by Instinct 8. The Acoustics of the Singing Voice 9. The Perception of Speech in Early Infancy 10. The Acquisition of Language 11. How Children Learn Words 12. Dyslexia
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