Origin and Evolution of Languages
Approaches, Models, Paradigms

Includes contribution from various disciplines that have been wary, traditionally, of extending beyond their borders: linguistics (different branches thereof), philosophy, history and prehistory, archaeology, anthropology, genetics and computer-modelling.

On the anthropological scene, criticisms of the monogenetic model have set up new debates and counter-arguments. Approaching the issue of the origin and evolution of human languages within a Darwinian paradigm remains problematic. On the archaeological scene, not all reconstructions are proving compatible with current models for the circulation of techniques, myths and cultures.On the linguistic scene, raising again the issue of the origin/evolution of humankind and of languages in an evolutionary, cognitive, social and cultural perspective or in terms of generational transmission and acquisition, may induce a reconsideration of linguistic theories in search of universals as well as most theories of change and variation. All contributors are world-renowned experts in their domain.

Introduction Serge Cleuziou (CNRS), Jean Paul Demoule (University of Paris 1), Pierre Encreve (EHESS), Bernard Laks (University of Paris 10) Part One : ab originemGenetic evolution and the evolution of languagesL.L.Cavalli-Sforza, Genetics Dept. Stanford University Languages, genes, and prehistory, with special reference to Europe Bernard Comrie, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and University of California Santa Barbara Poor Design Features in Language as Clues to its PrehistoryAndrew Carstairs-McCarthy, Linguistics, University of Canterbury, New Zealand What Can We Learn About the Earliest Human Language by Comparing Languages Known Today? Lyle Campbell, Linguistics, University of Canterbury, New Zealand Conceptualization, Communication, and the Origins of GrammarFrederick J. Newmeyer University of Washington The Origin of Language as a Product of the Evolution of Modern Cognition Gilles Fauconnier and Mark Turner, University of California San Diego and Case University Part Two : post originem Genetics and Language: Comparatism and Genealogy in PerspectiveBernard Laks, University of Paris 10 Simulating the expansion of farming and the differentiation of European languagesDomenico Parisi, Francesco Antinucci, Francesco Natale, Federico Cecconi, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, Italian National Research Council On Renfrew's Hypothesis of the Near-Eastern Origins of the Indo-European UrheimatJean-Paul Demoule, University of Paris 1 New Perspectives on the Origin of Languages Merrit Ruhlen Stanford University Linguistic History and Computational Cladistics Don Ringe and Tandy Warnow, University of Pennsylvania and University of TexasWhat do Creoles and Pidgins Tell Us About the Evolution of Languages?Salikoko S. Mufwene University of Chicago Linguistics and archaeologySerge Cleuziou University Paris 1