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Publisher: MIT Press, London

Publication Year: 2013

Binding: Hardback

Page Count: 542

ISBN Number: 978-0-262-01860-9

Price: £ 34.95

BIRDSONG, SPEECH, AND LANGUAGE: EXPLORING THE EVOLUTION OF MIND AND BRAIN

Do Nightingales learn to sing the same way babies learn to talk? Do birds adopt dialects the way humans do? These are the kind of questions that this book starts to explore. This comprehensive volume synthesizes much of the previous work on both birdsong and human language, drawing comparisons, finding commonalities and highlighting distinctions. 

 

Although birdsong and language are very different in a number of ways, they have some deep-rooted common history, and the same genes have been found to be required for normal speech and learning in humans as are required for standard song in songbirds. This suggests birdsong and speech may have evolved from the same genetic basis and highlights why the study of both together may reveal new insights into both birdsong and human language. 

 

The book has five main sections covering learning, syntax, genetics, evolution and neurobiology of birdsong and speech. Each of the topics considered is covered in a detailed and academic format, with chapters written by current leading researchers in these fields.

Book reviewed by Alison Johnston



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