The Nature of Language: Evolution, Paradigms and Circuits

Preface.- Introduction.- PART I. Evolution. - Chapter 1: The Human Lineage.- 1.1 An Overview.- 1.2 Fossil Evidence.- Chapter 2. Protomusic and Speech.- 2.1 The Role of Protomusic.- 2.2 Evolutionary Milestones.- Chapter 3. Genetic Foundations.- 3.1 Language-Related Genes.- 3.2 The Role of the Basal Ganglia.- Chapter 4. The Rise of Cognition.- 4.1 Comparative Studies.- 4.2 Proto-Cognition.- PART II. Paradigms.- Chapter 5. The Human Language System.- 5.1 Biological Disposition.- 5.2 Linguistic Wiring.- Chapter 6. Semantics and Syntax.- 6.1 Sentence Structures.- 6.2 Neural Nets.- Chapter 7. Lexical Concepts.- 7.1 Constructions.- 7.2 Mental Space.- Chapter 8. Figurative Language.- 8.1. Lexical Dark Matters.- 8.2 Idioms and Metaphors.- PART III. Circuits.-Chapter 9. Generating Sentences.- 9.1 Structural Complexity.- 9.2 The Role of Working Memory.- Chapter 10. Accessing Word Meanings.- 10.1 Lexical Concepts.- 10.2 Figures of Speech.- Chapter 11. Atypical Language.- 11.1 Aphasia.- 11.2 Communicative Disorders.- Chapter 12. Language Acquisition.- 12.1 The Genetic Program.- 12.2 The Multilingual Brain.-Prospects.- Index.