Language in Nature: on the Evolutionary Roots of a Cultural Phenomenon (draft chapter for The Language Phenomenon)

Abstract

What distinguishes Man from beast? For all of human history we have been wondering about that question, and over the centuries we have learned to dismiss some of the popular answers. Humans might walk upright more than any other ape, have less hair, be better at long distance running, use tools more readily, have more advanced reasoning skills, be more aware of the thoughts of others or behave mor