
The Revolutionary Origins of Language
Yale University Press
Will be published approx. on 27. October 2026
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-0-300-28920-6 (ISBN)
Description
The story of the social and sexual revolution responsible for the emergence of our most prized skill-the ability to speak
Speech is unprecedented in the natural world. Yet human infants can learn the grammar of their native tongue so quickly, it is as if they knew the basics already. How did such a unique ability evolve, and what does it reveal about the nature of our species?
Drawing on evolutionary and social anthropology, behavioural ecology, archaeology, and linguistics, Chris Knight and Jerome Lewis unearth the political and social origins of our capacity to speak. What they discover points to the revolutionary role played by women at every stage. It seems that formidable coalitions of women used laughter, song, and dance to restrain the male potential for violence. In so doing, women established extraordinary levels of community-wide trust-precisely what was needed for linguistic creativity to flourish.
The Revolutionary Origins of Language is a bold and surprising assessment of the complex conditions which produced our most prized skill.
Speech is unprecedented in the natural world. Yet human infants can learn the grammar of their native tongue so quickly, it is as if they knew the basics already. How did such a unique ability evolve, and what does it reveal about the nature of our species?
Drawing on evolutionary and social anthropology, behavioural ecology, archaeology, and linguistics, Chris Knight and Jerome Lewis unearth the political and social origins of our capacity to speak. What they discover points to the revolutionary role played by women at every stage. It seems that formidable coalitions of women used laughter, song, and dance to restrain the male potential for violence. In so doing, women established extraordinary levels of community-wide trust-precisely what was needed for linguistic creativity to flourish.
The Revolutionary Origins of Language is a bold and surprising assessment of the complex conditions which produced our most prized skill.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
12 b-w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 152 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-300-28920-6 (9780300289206)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Chris Knight is professor emeritus of anthropology at UCL, a founder of the EVOLANG conference series, and editor of six volumes on evolutionary linguistics. Jerome Lewis is professor of anthropology at UCL and world renowned for over thirty years of research with hunter-gatherers in Central Africa.