When asked about the greatest innovation of humans, people often say language or fire. A new paper suggests these innovations ...

One of the most prominent theories about the origins of human language is that our ancestors started to communicate using ...

(Anup Shah/Stone RF/Getty Images) Human languages are complex and versatile. They reflect our intelligence, our cultures, our ...

A superb fairy-wren calls to a Horsfield's bronze-cuckoo. Brood parasites like cuckoos lay eggs in other birds' nests and leave them behind for the host birds to raise. David Ongley / Cornell Lab of ...

Human languages are known to have grown and changed considerably over the course of history, often reflecting technological, cultural, and societal shifts. Studying the evolution of languages can thus ...

A new study suggests that the NOVA1 gene may have been a key player in the evolution of human language. By Carl Zimmer Scientists have long struggled to understand how human language evolved. Words ...

Language evolution encompasses the origin, diversification and change of human languages over time. It integrates comparative and computational methods—such as phylogenetic modelling, phylogeography ...

The origins of human language remain mysterious. Are we the only animals truly capable of complex speech? Are Homo sapiens the only hominids who could give detailed directions to a far-off freshwater ...

Learn how firelight may have extended social life after dark, creating the conditions for storytelling to shape the evolution of human language. Humans may not have needed language to hunt, use tools, ...