Integrating Genetic and Cultural Approaches to Language - CEE 2010 Symposium Date: Friday, 26th February 2010 (9am-5pm) Location: Queen Mary University of London
Please find below details of a one-day symposium at Queen Mary University of London. Description: This symposium will ask how the diverse and complex languages of today evolved from a non-linguistic ancestral state, encompassing both genetic evolution (of the language faculty) and cultural evolution (of languages themselves). Topics to be addressed include comparative studies of vocal communication in birds, ungulates and primates, the genetic and neurobiological basis of human speech and language, cognitive influences on language evolution, and phylogenetic analyses of language history. Speakers and talk titles: Tecumseh Fitch, University of Vienna - Language Evolution: Testing the Hypotheses with Comparative and Genetic Data Simon Fisher, University of Oxford - Molecular windows into speech and language Chris Petkov, University of Newcastle - Communication and the primate brain: Insights from comparing the neuroimaging evidence in humans, chimpanzees and macaques Gabriel Beckers, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology - Mechanisms of bird vocal production, perception and learning: a comparison to speech and language. Katie Slocombe, University of York - Primate vocal communication: links to human language? Mark Pagel, Reading University - Language as a Culturally Transmitted Replicator Kenny Smith, Northumbria University - Language evolution in the lab Fiona Jordan, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics - Kinship terminology and the evolution of semantic systems Nick Chater, University College London - Cultural Evolution and Language Acquisition Dan Dediu, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics - Are languages really independent from genes? If not, what would a genetic bias affecting language diversity look like? The website is online for registration and/or poster abstract submission and/or hotel accomodation booking in nearby Stratford, London (special reduced rate). The symposium only has 65 places remaining. http://sites.google.com/site/cee2010symposium/ McGraw Hill have given us a £100 Amazon voucher for the best student poster. http://sites.google.com/site/cee2010symposium/poster-submission Best regards, Alan McElligott Alex Mesoudi School of Biological and Chemical Sciences Queen Mary University of London http://psychology.sbcs.qmul.ac.uk/index.html Symposium support: The Centre for Ecology and Evolution The Galton Institute The Genetics Society School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, QMUL Department of Linguistics, QMUL -- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Dr. Alan McElligott School of Biological and Chemical Sciences Queen Mary University of London Mile End Road London E1 4NS Tel. + 44 (0)20 7882 8883 Fax + 44 (0)20 8983 0973 [email protected] http://sites.google.com/site/alanmcelligott/ http://www.sbcs.qmul.ac.uk/staff/alanmcelligott.html ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
