Evolution of Human Language

Where did the human capacity for language come from and why does language have the properties it does? We’ll consider and evaluate several hypotheses for the biological and cultural evolution of language, drawing on evidence from emergent languages across modalities (spoken and signed), other species, genetics and language disorders, experimental methods, and computational models. This course has no pre-requisites and is appropriate for students new to linguistics and evolutionary theory as well as those with strong backgrounds in these areas.