68 books
—
7 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Talking Ape: How Language Evolved” as Want to Read:
The Talking Ape: How Language Evolved
(Oxford Studies in the Evolution of Language)
by
Humans never run out of things to say. We explain, we cajole, we gossip, and we flirt--all with the help of language. But how in the space of several million years did we evolve from an ordinary primate that that could not talk to the strange human primate that can't shut up?
In this fascinating, thought-provoking book, Robbins Burling presents the most convincing account ...more
In this fascinating, thought-provoking book, Robbins Burling presents the most convincing account ...more
Get A Copy
Paperback, 286 pages
Published
May 17th 2007
by OUP Oxford
(first published January 11th 2005)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
The Talking Ape,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about The Talking Ape
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of The Talking Ape: How Language Evolved
Interesting book about the ability to talk as a essential step in human evolution
Clear and well written. Possibly a tad repetitive sometimes. A believable and understandable theory of the evolution of language.
Clear and interesting discussion of language evolution.
Although it appeared as the fifth book in an academic series published by Oxford University Press, it would have sold well, I believe, in airport bookshops. It is extremely well written, with a wonderful mixture of a seriousness of purpose and a lightness of style, as when the author breaks off his argument to admire the "splendid string of middle initials" in the name of a Dutch primatologist. The subtitle tells what the book is about; the main title is actually rather misleading, since the aut
...more
Jul 29, 2008
Daniel
is currently reading it
This is good schtuff. If you have wondered when you watch the gorillas in the zoo what is different between us and them, this is food for such thought. There's no way not to be somewhat speculative in the argument, I guess, but the case laid out here as to why our species evolved toward the language that is now so much a part of what makes humans human is pretty compelling.
...more
Aug 02, 2009
Karl Schmiedeskamp
added it
Recommends it for:
People deeply interested in language & human evolution
Recommended to Karl by:
luck
This book is hard work and I have to find time and energy to read it but it is well worth it for the wealth of linguistic and evolutionary theory. I intend to read it more than once just to absorb the information.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers also enjoyed
Other books in the series
Oxford Studies in the Evolution of Language
(1 - 10 of 19 books)
Related Articles
Happy Women's History Month! One of the undisputedly good things about modern scholarship is that women’s history is finally getting its due....
19 likes · 2 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
