Eve Spoke: Human Language and Human Evolution

by Herbert Ed Lieberman and Philip Lieberman

Book Overview

The human imagination never ceases to be captivated by the quest for its own roots. Who were our ancestors? In the evolutionary clash of brains and brawn, what was it that prevailed and made us, Homo sapiens, uniquely human? Today scientists cite language as the distinctively human feature. But what is language--a sign, a grunt? a sound with collective symbolic meaning? This remarkable book seeks to set the record straight with a critical refinement...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393040895
• ISBN13: 9780393040890
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.7" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Why and how mankind evolved the plumbing required for speech

A good complement to Robbins Burling's "The Talking Ape," Stephen Pinker's "The Language Instinct," and John McWhorter's "The Power of Babel." Each has its own niche. Pinker approaches the question from the structure of the brain, and the structure of language itself. McWhorter is a linguist; he talks about how languages are put together. Lieberman and Burling occupy themselves with the evolutionary question. How did language come about? Their works complement each other quite nicely. Lieberman examines the physiological changes that were required in the evolution of the sound production mechanism that is so unique and so characterizes Homo sapiens. Burling approaches the same question from a linguist's perspective. How could language of all in such a way that each step represented an evolutionary advantage over the prior step, but yet the overall result was a qualitative leap which he says went from analog to digital communications. Burling advances a number of large theories. The kinds of theories that would be impossible to prove given the fact that speech leaves no historical record, and even the archaeological record of the evolution of the speech apparatus is fairly spotty. He proposes that the evolution of language was driven by listening and perception rather than production. The ability to produce speech would have been worthless unless it was paired with listeners capable of interpreting it. Conversely, superior ability to understand utterances of other members of a social group would always be advantageous to the animal possessed of that ability. This ties in quite well with Lieberman's timeline for the development of the human speech apparatus. Lieberman goes into a lot of detail about the differences between Neanderthal and Homo sapiens' vocal tracks, evolutionary differences that occurred very recently, in the last 200,000 years or so. I believe this would make sense to Burling; the production mechanism evolved quickly once the listening mechanisms were substantially in place. Lieberman notes that the human vocal tract imposes a number of disadvantages. We're the only animal that can asphyxiate in the process of swallowing. The location of our larynx impedes airflow for maximum aerobic performance, and requires that we have smaller and less useful jaws. It could only have evolved the way it did if language had a high selective advantage. Burling observes that that human speech is digital whereas most animal communication is analog. Words are discrete from one another; they do not fall on a continuum. Bat and bag are two different words. Our hearing apparatus may err in choosing between them, but our brain will form one concept or the other. Compare this with a baby's cry, which can vary continuously from a whimper to a full-blown scream. Both authors address the question of why a speech is a vocal rather than a gestural matter. It is both, on both the analog and the digital side. On the analog-visual s

and adam listened..

Lieberman's book is concise, well-written, and fascinating. While the book may be intended for a popular audience, some knowledge of basic anatomy and neuroscience is necessary in order to fully appreciate his ideas. The organization of topics is refreshingly casual, unsuitable for textbook writing, but perfectly appropriate for this particular work. A quick, enjoyable, and informative read. Great preparation for a cocktail party.