This important and original account of the origin and evolution of speech integrates the latest research in speech, acquisition, and neurobiology, and includes the key observation that infants learning language reveal similar constraints to those acting on our distant ancestors. It is written in a clear style with minimal recourse to jargon. - ;This book explores the origin and evolution of speech. The human speech system is in a league of its own in the animal kingdom and its possession dwarfs most other evolutionary achievements. During every second of speech we unconsciously use about 225 d