Herbert S. Terrace - Columbia University Press Blog

August 21, 2020

NonVerbal Precursors of Language: Intersubjective Relations Provide an Emotional Foundation of Language

By Herbert S. Terrace

Today, we are sharing the the next edition in this blog post series on The Origins of Language, by Herbert S. Terrace, author of Why Chimpanzees Can’t Learn Language and Only Humans Can. In this post, Terrace discusses how intersubjective relations...

May 29, 2020

Which Human Ancestor Invented Words?

By Herbert S. Terrace

“Language seems to be a miracle; even our closest relatives, the great apes, lack any capacity for the grammatical structures that make human language unique. Herbert Terrace goes further and shows that chimpanzees can’t even learn words. With characteristic clarity,...

February 14, 2020

Alfred Wallace’s Problem: Can the Theory of Evolution Explain Language?

By Herbert S. Terrace

“With characteristic clarity, [Terrace] gives a convincing account of language evolution in Darwinian terms, without appeal to miracles. This is an important new approach to an old and vexed problem.” ~Michael Corballis, author of The Truth About Language: What It...

January 10, 2020

Why a Chimpanzee Can’t Learn Language: They Can’t Learn That Things Have Names

For today’s Science Friday blog post, Herbert S. Terrace continues his series on the origin of language based on his book Why Chimpanzees Can’t Learn Language and Only Humans Can. In this installment, Terrace discusses why chimpanzees signing does not require...

December 13, 2019

Why Chimpanzees Can’t Learn Language: My Rollercoaster Experience Trying to Teach a Chimp Sign Language

“Language seems to be a miracle; even our closest relatives, the great apes, lack any capacity for the grammatical structures that make human language unique. Herbert Terrace goes further and shows that chimpanzees can’t even learn words. With characteristic clarity,...

November 8, 2019

Why Animal Communication Is Not Language: The Gap Between Expressing Emotion and Sharing Knowledge

“In this work, the distinguished psychologist Herbert S. Terrace illustrates a unique comparative perspective on the nature and evolution of language.” ~ Charles Yang, author of The Infinite Gift: How Children Learn and Unlearn the Languages of the World To continue...

October 11, 2019

Nim Chimpsky and Noam Chomsky: Why Language Began with Words

“Herbert S. Terrace, known for his breakthrough work on the ape, Nim Chimpsky, now shines light on language acquisition in human children. In this masterful work, Terrace provides extraordinarily novel ideas about the evolution and development of the human mind...

September 3, 2019

New Book Tuesday! The New Slave Narrative, Journalism in the Age of Virtual Reality, Why Chimpanzees Can’t Learn Language and Only Humans Can, and more!

Our weekly list of new books is now available! The New Slave Narrative The Battle Over Representations of Contemporary Slavery Laura T. Murphy Narrating Practice with Children and Adolescents Edited by Mery F. Diaz and Benjamin Shepard Journalism in the...

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Tag: Herbert S. Terrace

NonVerbal Precursors of Language: Intersubjective Relations Provide an Emotional Foundation of Language

By Herbert S. Terrace

Which Human Ancestor Invented Words?

By Herbert S. Terrace

Alfred Wallace’s Problem: Can the Theory of Evolution Explain Language?

By Herbert S. Terrace

Why a Chimpanzee Can’t Learn Language: They Can’t Learn That Things Have Names

Why Chimpanzees Can’t Learn Language: My Rollercoaster Experience Trying to Teach a Chimp Sign Language

Why Animal Communication Is Not Language: The Gap Between Expressing Emotion and Sharing Knowledge

Nim Chimpsky and Noam Chomsky: Why Language Began with Words

New Book Tuesday! The New Slave Narrative, Journalism in the Age of Virtual Reality, Why Chimpanzees Can’t Learn Language and Only Humans Can, and more!