The Origin of Language - Madeleine Beekman *****

I'm always a little wary of popular science books that start with a personal story, but I'll make an exception for Madeleine Beekman's excellent book, which sets out a possible explanation of our ability to speak, because the approach fits in with a well-balanced combination of storytelling and scientific information.

There have been a good number of books that either set out to explain some of our species' physical oddities or abilities that seem to set us apart from other animals. Twenty years ago I was impressed by Clive Bromhall's The Eternal Child, which suggested retaining infantile features (neoteny) enabled us to exist more effectively in large groups, while many authors have attempted to highlight aspects of being human that set us apart (as was the case with storytelling in Brainjacking). Here Beekman first takes us through what palaeontology can tell us about the development our biological form, then explores the function of speech and language.

In many ways her thesis pulls together the two aspects mentioned above: first there is surviving in larger groups: she points out a human infant not only needs support for many years but also is very difficult to rear solo, requiring a support network of some sort to keep it viable. And secondly there is the way that speech and story enable us to link and bind the members of those networks. Beekman makes an impressive case for an evolutionary development that brings together our physical limitations, large brain, and the years of development required before we can operate independently.

This is all done in a lightly handled, readable fashion. This is very different from a 'theory of language' type book - it is about being human and the importance of language in enabling that. Where many language theories have focused on other aspects of human development - such as the need to be able to hunt effectively, or a link to developing tools - Beekman gives what feels a much more natural explanation in an ability that is totally tied into our neotenous nature, with the existence of infants that need so much support going hand in hand with a social environment to provide that support.

Perhaps because I've already read excellent human palaeontology books such as Henry Gee's The Accidental Species, I was slightly less interested in the section that dealt with this aspect, but even so, overall this a fascinating addition to the field.

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