The Cambridge Handbook of Biolinguistics

The most comprehensive state-of-the-field survey of biolinguistics available.

Cedric Boeckx (Edited by), Kleanthes K. Grohmann (Edited by)

9780521761536, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 14 February 2013

704 pages, 42 b/w illus. 3 tables
25.3 x 18.2 x 4 cm, 1.37 kg

'In this comprehensive introduction to biolinguistics, twenty-five chapters by esteemed researchers provide accessible introductions to the field, building bridges between linguistics and biology, evolution, development and neuroscience. A 'must-have' compendium.' Tecumseh Fitch, University of Vienna

Biolinguistics involves the study of language from a broad perspective that embraces natural sciences, helping us better to understand the fundamentals of the faculty of language. This Handbook offers the most comprehensive state-of-the-field survey of the subject available. A team of prominent scholars working in a variety of disciplines is brought together to examine language development, language evolution and neuroscience, as well as providing overviews of the conceptual landscape of the field. The Handbook includes work at the forefront of contemporary research devoted to the evidence for a language instinct, the critical period hypothesis, grammatical maturation, bilingualism, the relation between mind and brain, and the role of natural selection in language evolution. It will be welcomed by graduate students and researchers in a wide range of disciplines, including linguistics, evolutionary biology and cognitive science.

1. Introducing the volume Kleanthes K. Grohmann and Cedric Boeckx
2. Biolinguistics – a historical perspective Lyle Jenkins
3. Biolinguistics yesterday, today and tomorrow Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini
4. The philosophical foundations of biolinguistics James McGilvray
Part I. Language Development: 5. (Evidence for) the language instinct Ianthi Maria Tsimpli
6. Sensitive phases in successive language acquisition: the critical period hypothesis revisited Jürgen M. Meisel
7. Discovering word forms and word meanings: the role of phrasal prosody and function words Séverine Millotte, Elodie Cauvet, Perrine Brusini and Anne Christophe
8. Luria's biolinguistic suggestion and the growth of language Ken Wexler
9. Parameters in language acquisition Lisa Pearl and Jeffrey Lidz
10. Bilingualism beyond language: on the impact of bilingualism on executive control Mireia Hernández, Clara D. Martin, Núria Sebastián-Gallés and Albert Costa
Part II. Mind, Brain, Behavior: 11. The role of experimental syntax in an integrated cognitive science of language Jon Sprouse and Diogo Almeida
12. Working memory and language processing: theory, data and directions for future research Matthew Wagers and Brian McElree
13. Computational primitives in phonology and their neural correlates Philip J. Monahan, Ellen F. Lau and William J. Idsardi
14. Computational primitives in syntax and possible brain correlates Matthias Schlesewsky and Ina Bornkessel-Schlesewsky
15. Computational primitives in morphology and possible brain correlates Ina Bornkessel-Schlesewsky and Matthias Schlesewsky
16. Grounding the cognitive neuroscience of semantics in linguistic theory Liina Pylkkänen, Jonathan Brennan and Douglas Bemis
17. Modularity and descent with modification Gary F. Marcus, Cristina D. Rabaglia and Hugh Rabagliati
18. The role of Broca's area in language function Gregory Hickok
19. Lexical retrieval and breakdown in aphasia and developmental language impairment Naama Friedmann, Michal Biran and Dror Dotan
20. Genetics of language: roots of specific language deficits Antonio Benítez-Burraco
Part III. Language Evolution: 21. The cognitive capacities of non-human primates Klaus Zuberbühler
22. Birdsong for biolinguistics Kazuo Okanoya
23. Language, culture and computation: an adaptive systems approach to biolinguistics Simon Kirby
24. Language and natural selection Derek Bickerton
25. The fossils of language: what are they? Who has them? How did they evolve? Sergio Balari, Antonio Benítez-Burraco, Víctor M. Longa and Guillermo Lorenzo.

Subject Areas: Evolution [PSAJ], Cognition & cognitive psychology [JMR], Linguistics [CF]