This book studies the origins of language. It presents language as the product of a unique non-linguistic cognitive feature (i.e. metacognition) that emerged late in human evolution. Within this framework, the author lays special emphasis on the tight links that exist between language and consciousness, with the conviction that the creation of language was ultimately made possible by the onset of a new type of awareness that enabled the invention of words. The volume studies the parallels between human cultural behaviour and human language, discusses the motivational underpinnings that favoured the emergence of language, and offers a possible evolutionary timeline for the advent of language. It also addresses the question of whether artificial intelligence will ever develop the kind of thinking and language observable in humans. A unique look into the beginnings of human language, this book will be indispensable for students and researchers of language and linguistics, language evolution, cultural studies, cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics, and cognitive science.

These last few years have witnessed a renewed interest in the theory of "linguistic relativity." This book reports the findings of a linguistic relativity study carried out on English and Italian speakers with respect to the semantics of manner of motion. The two linguistic groups were found to differ significantly in variety and frequency of use of manner of motion verbs, but not with respect to the degree of visual attention paid to manners of motion. The study therefore provides evidence against linguistic relativity. Along with a considerable amount of empirical data, the book also contains some theoretical discussions on various issues relevant to the language-and-thought debate (e.g. the possible existence of conceptual primitives, Slobin's concept of "thinking for speaking"). Special attention is given to a set of criteria proposed by the author for establishing what distinctive semantic features a verb should have in order to justify classification as a "manner of motion verb." Students and researchers who are interested in topics such as the relationships between language and cognition, motion conceptualisation, and semantics in general will find this work useful.