Language plays a pivotal role in the evolution of human culture, yet the evolution of the
capacity for language—uniquely within the hominin lineage—remains little understood …

We set out an account of how self-domestication plays a crucial role in the evolution of
language. In doing so, we focus on the growing body of work that treats language structure …

An argument that the meaning of written or auditory linguistic signals is not derived from the
input but results from the brain's internal construction process. When we read a text or listen …

Human language shows combinatoriality in its phonology (both in speech and in sign
language) and its grammar, while both types appear to be absent in the communication …

This thesis would not have been possible without the tremendous support of numerous
people. First and foremost, I am extremely grateful to my supervisors at KU Leuven, Benedikt …

Categorization is a fundamental function of minds, with wide ranging implications for the rest
of the cognitive system. In humans, categories are shared and communicated between …

This special collection brings together research exploring and evaluating probabilistic
variation patterns from a comparative perspective, thus highlighting current work situated at …

Languages carry information. To fulfil this purpose, they employ a multitude of coding
strategies. This book explores a core property of linguistic coding–called lexical diversity …

The science of language evolution appeared at the end of the last century but top¬ ically
belongs to language origins–the domain of investigation that is concerned with the …

This dissertation is about the communicative ecologies (socio-cultural circumstances) of
children who are insulated from traditional linguistic input because they are deaf and cannot …