Overview

Jenkins has succeeded in putting together a terrific volume. Some of the most creative minds in the fields tackle questions of utmost importance in biolinguistics. The clarity with which these essays are written and the insights expressed in them are sure to provide solid foundations for research in linguistics and related fields for years to come. A truly outstanding collection! Cedric Boeckx, Harvard University, USA This book provides a current and interdisciplinary overview of work on the biology of language - what is sometimes called the biolinguistic approach. A wide range of areas are investigated and reviewed by specialists: the micro-parametric theory of syntax, models of language acquisition and historical change, dynamical systems in language, genetics of populations, pragmatics of discourse, language neurology, genetic disorders of language, sign language, and evolution of language. It focuses on the interplay between variation and the universal properties of language. Detailed surveys or case studies are provided from the areas of syntactic variation, genetic variation, neurological variation and historical variation, among others, and of the universal principles and theoretical models that underlie the variation. Finally, it considers - in addition to the detailed empirical studies - philosophical, foundational and methodological issues in the study of the biology of language and its place within the natural sciences; e.g.,innateness, modularity, language design and unification in biolinguistics, as well as critiques of the approach.

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Had Eric Lenneberg written his seminal book ""Biological Foundations of Language"" (1967) today, he most probably would have written something quite similar to the present volume...The volume offers a very fortunate selection of papers from the biolinguistic field, succeeding in blending general and easily accessible introductions to more biological or formal research areas that linguists and psychologists are less familiar with, such as the correlation between genetic and linguistic variation, or the state of the art in the study of human evolution, with in-depth analyses and detailed empirical reviews of controversial issues...A common underlying theme running through all the articles is the attempt to achieve a complex understanding of the key issues, with an eye towards an ultimate unification with the biological sciences. This genuinely multidisciplinary approach gives a unique appeal to the volume. Read the full review on the LinguistList: http://linguistlist.org/issues/16/16-2233.html Judit Gervain, Cognitive Neuroscience Sector, Scuola Internazionale di Studi Avanzati, Trieste, Italy

Had Eric Lenneberg written his seminal book Biological Foundations of Language (1967) today, he most probably would have written something quite similar to the present volume...The volume offers a very fortunate selection of papers from the biolinguistic field, succeeding in blending general and easily accessible introductions to more biological or formal research areas that linguists and psychologists are less familiar with, such as the correlation between genetic and linguistic variation, or the state of the art in the study of human evolution, with in-depth analyses and detailed empirical reviews of controversial issues...A common underlying theme running through all the articles is the attempt to achieve a complex understanding of the key issues, with an eye towards an ultimate unification with the biological sciences. This genuinely multidisciplinary approach gives a unique appeal to the volume. Read the full review on the LinguistList: http://linguistlist.org/issues/16/16-2233.html Judit Gervain, Cognitive Neuroscience Sector, Scuola Internazionale di Studi Avanzati, Trieste, Italy

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