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Religion

struggle4progress

(126,706 posts)

14. The evolution of human speech may be quite complex. I don't know the current status

Reply to rug (Original post)

Mon Oct 10, 2016, 09:42 PM

Oct 2016

of the theory here, but I was at one time highly intrigued by an overview suggesting that human hand evolution (including opposable thumbs) reduced the importance of the mouth for grasping, which allowed some reorganization of the neck and (thereby) development of the human larynx, necessary for vocalization

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In Tom Wolfe's 'Kingdom,' Speech Is The One Weird Trick [View all] rug Aug 2016 OP

Wolfe's mind now appears pretty pathetic muriel_volestrangler Aug 2016 #1

Electric Kool-Aid Acid. rug Aug 2016 #2

He saw the sales potential. Schema Thing Aug 2016 #3

Ah, could be. muriel_volestrangler Aug 2016 #4

all of the above? smdh Schema Thing Aug 2016 #10

Wow, pathetic. Speech is incredibly important but denying evolution is ignorant & stupid. Period. nt Bernardo de La Paz Aug 2016 #5

Ah, his new book. That must be why he felt qualified to mock Chomsky's linguistic theories. Jim__ Aug 2016 #6

I wonder if that Harper's article was an excerpt from this book. rug Aug 2016 #7

You're right, it is. I didn't see that footnote. Jim__ Aug 2016 #8

It's more likely he used that excerpt to promote the book. rug Aug 2016 #9

That excerpt definitely convinces me not to bother reading the book. Jim__ Aug 2016 #11

A reply to Wolfe's mocking essay. Jim__ Oct 2016 #12

It's long past someone thanked you for elevating the discourse in this Group. rug Oct 2016 #13

Thanks for saying that. I do think that Pesetsky's reply to Wolfe was well written and on-point. n/t Jim__ Oct 2016 #16

The evolution of human speech may be quite complex. I don't know the current status struggle4progress Oct 2016 #14

I remember the look on my older daughter's face when her baby sister first spoke a sentence. rug Oct 2016 #15