Madeleine Beekman

Madeleine Beekman, professor emerita of evolutionary biology at the University of Sydney and author of The Origin of Language, discusses the unexpected origins of human language. She argues that the need to care for highly dependent infants drove early humans to communicate more effectively. This necessity for cooperation led to the development of language, fundamentally changing society. Beekman also explores the evolutionary journey of language, contrasting it with animal communication and examining how our brain's complexity plays a crucial role in social interaction.

In this discussion, evolutionary biologist Madeleine Beekman, author of 'The Origin of Language – How We Learned to Speak and Why,' explores how our need to care for helpless infants propelled the evolution of complex language. She delves into the anatomical shifts that occurred as humans adapted to walking upright, the role of larger brains in communication, and the cooperative parenting that emerged. Beekman also touches on how language acquisition in children reflects our innate abilities and speculates on the future of a global language in an increasingly interconnected world.

Madeleine Beekman, a professor emerita of evolutionary biology at the University of Sydney and author of 'The Origin of Language', shares a captivating perspective on why humans are such chatty creatures. She argues that the need to care for helpless infants drove the evolution of language as a project-management tool for parenting. Beekman explores how the challenges of early hominins shaped our communication skills and social cooperation, revealing a fascinating interplay between language and human evolution.