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The Origin of Language: How We Learned to Speak and Why
In a radical new story about the birth of our species, The Origin of Language argues that it was not hunting, fighting, or tool-making that forced early humans to speak, but the inescapable need to care for our children.
Journeying to the dawn of Homo sapiens, evolutionary biologist Madeleine Beekman reveals the “happy accidents” hidden in our molecular biology—DNA, chromosomes, and proteins—that led to one of the most fateful events in the history of life on our giving birth to babies earlier in their development than our hominid cousins the Neanderthals and Denisovans. Faced with highly dependent infants requiring years of nurturing and protection, early human communities needed to cooperate and coordinate, and it was this unprecedented need for communication that triggered the creation of human language—and changed everything.
Infused with cutting-edge science, sharp humor, and insights into the history of biology and its luminaries, Beekman weaves a narrative that’s both enlightening and entertaining. Challenging the traditional theories of male luminaries like Chomksy, Pinker, and Harari, she invites us into the intricate world of molecular biology and its ancient secrets. The Origin of Language is a tour de force by a brilliant biologist on how a culture of cooperation and care have shaped our existence.
“The Origin of Language is a tour de force. At its core it seeks to explain the origin of language. But, by linking our patterns of sociality, behavior, development, and communication it is a celebration of humanity’s origins. Reading Madeleine Beekman’s book, you will never look at babies—and their utterances—the same way ever again.” —Neil Shubin, evolutionary biologist and author of Your Inner Fish
Journeying to the dawn of Homo sapiens, evolutionary biologist Madeleine Beekman reveals the “happy accidents” hidden in our molecular biology—DNA, chromosomes, and proteins—that led to one of the most fateful events in the history of life on our giving birth to babies earlier in their development than our hominid cousins the Neanderthals and Denisovans. Faced with highly dependent infants requiring years of nurturing and protection, early human communities needed to cooperate and coordinate, and it was this unprecedented need for communication that triggered the creation of human language—and changed everything.
Infused with cutting-edge science, sharp humor, and insights into the history of biology and its luminaries, Beekman weaves a narrative that’s both enlightening and entertaining. Challenging the traditional theories of male luminaries like Chomksy, Pinker, and Harari, she invites us into the intricate world of molecular biology and its ancient secrets. The Origin of Language is a tour de force by a brilliant biologist on how a culture of cooperation and care have shaped our existence.
“The Origin of Language is a tour de force. At its core it seeks to explain the origin of language. But, by linking our patterns of sociality, behavior, development, and communication it is a celebration of humanity’s origins. Reading Madeleine Beekman’s book, you will never look at babies—and their utterances—the same way ever again.” —Neil Shubin, evolutionary biologist and author of Your Inner Fish
320 pages, Hardcover
First published July 28, 2025
21 people are currently reading
521 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 7, 2025
I'm always a little wary of popular science books that start with a personal story, but I'll make an exception for Madeleine Beekman's excellent book, which sets out a possible explanation of our ability to speak, because the approach fits in with a well-balanced combination of storytelling and scientific information.
There have been a good number of books that either set out to explain some of our species' physical oddities or abilities that seem to set us apart from other animals. Twenty years ago I was impressed by Clive Bromhall's The Eternal Child, which suggested retaining infantile features (neoteny) enabled us to exist more effectively in large groups, while many authors have attempted to highlight aspects of being human that set us apart (as was the case with storytelling in Brainjacking). Here Beekman first takes us through what palaeontology can tell us about the development our biological form, then explores the function of speech and language.
In many ways her thesis pulls together the two aspects mentioned above: first there is surviving in larger groups: she points out a human infant not only needs support for many years but also is very difficult to rear solo, requiring a support network of some sort to keep it viable. And secondly there is the way that speech and story enable us to link and bind the members of those networks. Beekman makes an impressive case for an evolutionary development that brings together our physical limitations, large brain, and the years of development required before we can operate independently.
This is all done in a lightly handled, readable fashion. This is very different from a 'theory of language' type book - it is about being human and the importance of language in enabling that. Where many language theories have focused on other aspects of human development - such as the need to be able to hunt effectively, or a link to developing tools - Beekman gives what feels a much more natural explanation in an ability that is totally tied into our neotenous nature, with the existence of infants that need so much support going hand in hand with a social environment to provide that support.
Perhaps because I've already read excellent human palaeontology books such as Henry Gee's The Accidental Species, I was slightly less interested in the section that dealt with this aspect, but even so, overall this a fascinating addition to the field.
There have been a good number of books that either set out to explain some of our species' physical oddities or abilities that seem to set us apart from other animals. Twenty years ago I was impressed by Clive Bromhall's The Eternal Child, which suggested retaining infantile features (neoteny) enabled us to exist more effectively in large groups, while many authors have attempted to highlight aspects of being human that set us apart (as was the case with storytelling in Brainjacking). Here Beekman first takes us through what palaeontology can tell us about the development our biological form, then explores the function of speech and language.
In many ways her thesis pulls together the two aspects mentioned above: first there is surviving in larger groups: she points out a human infant not only needs support for many years but also is very difficult to rear solo, requiring a support network of some sort to keep it viable. And secondly there is the way that speech and story enable us to link and bind the members of those networks. Beekman makes an impressive case for an evolutionary development that brings together our physical limitations, large brain, and the years of development required before we can operate independently.
This is all done in a lightly handled, readable fashion. This is very different from a 'theory of language' type book - it is about being human and the importance of language in enabling that. Where many language theories have focused on other aspects of human development - such as the need to be able to hunt effectively, or a link to developing tools - Beekman gives what feels a much more natural explanation in an ability that is totally tied into our neotenous nature, with the existence of infants that need so much support going hand in hand with a social environment to provide that support.
Perhaps because I've already read excellent human palaeontology books such as Henry Gee's The Accidental Species, I was slightly less interested in the section that dealt with this aspect, but even so, overall this a fascinating addition to the field.
August 29, 2025
In The Origin of Language, evolutionary biologist Madeleine Beekman puts forward an increasingly popular account of human origins in which the emergence of complex language abilities is held up as adaptation critical to the human story of success. Similar evolutionary narratives that emphasize the mother-child pair bond and the intensive nature of human parenting demands, and cooperative human faculties generally are increasingly common among a set feminist-friendly sociobiologists. I find aspects of many of these critiques valuable, but their critiques of existing evolutionary models (usually strawmen version of those models) are somewhat feeble and settle at mere qualifications to more robust theories like the social brain hypothesis or the collective brain hypothesis.
Read my 5000+ word review of The Origin of Language at Substack
Notionally rejecting conventional theories that trace language’s roots to hunting, tool-making, male hierarchy, or warfare, Beekman argues instead that the driving force was the need to cooperatively care for increasingly helpless infants and the need to distribute those care demands across a kindred. Instead of specifically defending this model in great detail, the reader is largely treated to an extended review of evolution in the primate lineage and how it likely led to humans.
In short, here's Beekman's narrative: A few important genetic events, affecting the NOTCH2 gene and a fusion of two chromosomes (into the current human chromosome 2) were primarily responsible for distinguishing our lineage from other primate with respect to our shared common ancestor. On this lineage, bipedalism emerged as an adaptation to climactic and environmental changes (from the forest to savanna). As humans evolved to walk upright, anatomical change flowed, especially narrower hips, which necessitated earlier births. The pressure of earlier births and sociality, compelled neoteny or the slowing of maturation with respect to the life trajectory of direct ancestors. The extended developmental period created an opportunity for increased brain development which was supported by greater caloric availability and selected for. There is a big debate about what selected for greater brain growth, e.g. whether it was sexual selection directly on intelligence or whether other aspects of sociality created the gradient. None of these theories are really mutually exclusive and it is probable that are these factors made brain growth important. Additionally, the advantages of greater intelligence are so apparent it is obvious why it would continue and continue rapidly. Beekman wants to emphasize the demands of parenting. I agree that pair bonding was quite important in this process, but her exploration of these dynamics is very superficial. She provides flippant commentary on robust theoretical work in mere paragraphs and doesn't really present her own alternative with much detail or clarity. It's just tepid, sometime incorrect, critiques of existing theories and then narrative gestures at selective forces and human dynamics she wants to emphasize.
Beekman also intertwines evolutionary biology with a critique of dominant linguistic theories. She pushes back against Noam Chomsky’s concept of a hard-wired “universal grammar,” Steven Pinker’s accompanying nativist accounts of language, and behaviorist explanations. She opts for a language as meme explanation where capacities for form phonemes were selected for by evolutionary pressures and humans used them in accordance to how other humans in their vicinity started to use them but that there is nothing specifically built into our brains about this in terms of grammar or meaning. This account undersells the amount of selection on language ability and the regional specialization of the brain for language and the later tradeoff the brain has had to make between facial reading and textual reading after written language was invent (much more an obvious exaptation than spoken language). Beekman is aware of this evidence for language selection given that she discusses the related FOXP2 evidence in her book. It is unclear why she thinks the fact that language in polygenic or omingenic means that it isn't wholly an innate capacity exactly. Anyway, she's a bit internally inconsistent on this as are several of the ideas she presents.
Nonetheless, the storytelling in the book is vivid, clear and wide-ranging. She ropes in a lot of examples from across the animal kingdom to the extent they shape her thinking (sometimes this is for the worse). For instance, she covers some of the strange behaviors of the cassowary to the communal logic of ant colonies. Generally, these highlight that there is a long evolutionary record of non-verbal communication.
Beekman leads readers through the biological contingencies and cultural contexts that shaped our capacity for speech. Importantly, she suggests that modern social structures, such as the nuclear family, might inhibit the natural conditions under which language once flourished, warning that the loss of communal caregiving may endanger not just social cohesion but the deeper human tendencies that gave rise to language itself. I also found this pretty unpersuasive given that her claim is primarily that pair-bonding provided the selection pressure for language; there isn't any pair-bond tighter in humans than among mother-and-infant.
Evaluating Beekman’s scientific claims requires distinguishing between established facts, robust theoretical frameworks, and speculative plausibility. Her central premise that language emerged from cooperative child-rearing is grounded in anthropological observations about extended childhood in humans and the unusually high levels of alloparenting in human societies and can be supported in ad hoc fashion from surveying behaviors across the animal kingdom, but there really isn't anything anywhere near dispositive here. Beekman isn't moving the ball anywhere new in the grand scheme of debates about the evolution of language (a debate she hardly even contextualizes for lay readers of her book).
Ultimately, this is an okay but overly motivated re-telling of the evolution of language. It also adds little to no new information to this well trod debate. The most helpful portions simply recount important genetic changes between humans and chimps alleged to be evolutionarily important, though she is a bit of an overly credulous reader of this evidence. I only recommend this work to those skeptical lay readers who are new to the debate about the evolution of language and are fine with a retread of the human origins narrative.
Disclaimer: I received this as an ARC through NetGalley.
Also, Beekman summarizes here own book here
Read my 5000+ word review of The Origin of Language at Substack
Notionally rejecting conventional theories that trace language’s roots to hunting, tool-making, male hierarchy, or warfare, Beekman argues instead that the driving force was the need to cooperatively care for increasingly helpless infants and the need to distribute those care demands across a kindred. Instead of specifically defending this model in great detail, the reader is largely treated to an extended review of evolution in the primate lineage and how it likely led to humans.
In short, here's Beekman's narrative: A few important genetic events, affecting the NOTCH2 gene and a fusion of two chromosomes (into the current human chromosome 2) were primarily responsible for distinguishing our lineage from other primate with respect to our shared common ancestor. On this lineage, bipedalism emerged as an adaptation to climactic and environmental changes (from the forest to savanna). As humans evolved to walk upright, anatomical change flowed, especially narrower hips, which necessitated earlier births. The pressure of earlier births and sociality, compelled neoteny or the slowing of maturation with respect to the life trajectory of direct ancestors. The extended developmental period created an opportunity for increased brain development which was supported by greater caloric availability and selected for. There is a big debate about what selected for greater brain growth, e.g. whether it was sexual selection directly on intelligence or whether other aspects of sociality created the gradient. None of these theories are really mutually exclusive and it is probable that are these factors made brain growth important. Additionally, the advantages of greater intelligence are so apparent it is obvious why it would continue and continue rapidly. Beekman wants to emphasize the demands of parenting. I agree that pair bonding was quite important in this process, but her exploration of these dynamics is very superficial. She provides flippant commentary on robust theoretical work in mere paragraphs and doesn't really present her own alternative with much detail or clarity. It's just tepid, sometime incorrect, critiques of existing theories and then narrative gestures at selective forces and human dynamics she wants to emphasize.
Beekman also intertwines evolutionary biology with a critique of dominant linguistic theories. She pushes back against Noam Chomsky’s concept of a hard-wired “universal grammar,” Steven Pinker’s accompanying nativist accounts of language, and behaviorist explanations. She opts for a language as meme explanation where capacities for form phonemes were selected for by evolutionary pressures and humans used them in accordance to how other humans in their vicinity started to use them but that there is nothing specifically built into our brains about this in terms of grammar or meaning. This account undersells the amount of selection on language ability and the regional specialization of the brain for language and the later tradeoff the brain has had to make between facial reading and textual reading after written language was invent (much more an obvious exaptation than spoken language). Beekman is aware of this evidence for language selection given that she discusses the related FOXP2 evidence in her book. It is unclear why she thinks the fact that language in polygenic or omingenic means that it isn't wholly an innate capacity exactly. Anyway, she's a bit internally inconsistent on this as are several of the ideas she presents.
Nonetheless, the storytelling in the book is vivid, clear and wide-ranging. She ropes in a lot of examples from across the animal kingdom to the extent they shape her thinking (sometimes this is for the worse). For instance, she covers some of the strange behaviors of the cassowary to the communal logic of ant colonies. Generally, these highlight that there is a long evolutionary record of non-verbal communication.
Beekman leads readers through the biological contingencies and cultural contexts that shaped our capacity for speech. Importantly, she suggests that modern social structures, such as the nuclear family, might inhibit the natural conditions under which language once flourished, warning that the loss of communal caregiving may endanger not just social cohesion but the deeper human tendencies that gave rise to language itself. I also found this pretty unpersuasive given that her claim is primarily that pair-bonding provided the selection pressure for language; there isn't any pair-bond tighter in humans than among mother-and-infant.
Evaluating Beekman’s scientific claims requires distinguishing between established facts, robust theoretical frameworks, and speculative plausibility. Her central premise that language emerged from cooperative child-rearing is grounded in anthropological observations about extended childhood in humans and the unusually high levels of alloparenting in human societies and can be supported in ad hoc fashion from surveying behaviors across the animal kingdom, but there really isn't anything anywhere near dispositive here. Beekman isn't moving the ball anywhere new in the grand scheme of debates about the evolution of language (a debate she hardly even contextualizes for lay readers of her book).
Ultimately, this is an okay but overly motivated re-telling of the evolution of language. It also adds little to no new information to this well trod debate. The most helpful portions simply recount important genetic changes between humans and chimps alleged to be evolutionarily important, though she is a bit of an overly credulous reader of this evidence. I only recommend this work to those skeptical lay readers who are new to the debate about the evolution of language and are fine with a retread of the human origins narrative.
Disclaimer: I received this as an ARC through NetGalley.
Also, Beekman summarizes here own book here
July 21, 2025
While marketed as the origin of language, this deals more with the evolutionary process as to why and how humans learned to communicate and speak.
This was incredibly well researched and demonstrates the evolutionary process of humans but I expected more regarding the actual language part. It wasn’t until about one third of the way through that we really start talking more about how humans have gained the ability to communicate and there was some repetition going on as well.
As one reviewer greatly put it, this is more on the “why” we learned to speak rather than the “how”.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the ARC.
This was incredibly well researched and demonstrates the evolutionary process of humans but I expected more regarding the actual language part. It wasn’t until about one third of the way through that we really start talking more about how humans have gained the ability to communicate and there was some repetition going on as well.
As one reviewer greatly put it, this is more on the “why” we learned to speak rather than the “how”.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the ARC.
July 2, 2025
Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free Kindle book. My review is voluntarily given, and my opinions are my own.
I went back and forth between giving this a 3 or 4 star but decided to give it a 3 star in the end. The writing is great, and you could tell the author did tons of research for the book. However, there wasn't a huge focus on language. The reason I chose the book is because it was about language. Which there's nothing wrong with a book focusing on the evolution and biology of species, but then say that in your title. Not to say that there was nothing about language in the book, just that more in a general.
This would be a great book for those people interested in the topic of the evolution and biology of humans. However, it will be difficult for many of them to find since the title says language.
I went back and forth between giving this a 3 or 4 star but decided to give it a 3 star in the end. The writing is great, and you could tell the author did tons of research for the book. However, there wasn't a huge focus on language. The reason I chose the book is because it was about language. Which there's nothing wrong with a book focusing on the evolution and biology of species, but then say that in your title. Not to say that there was nothing about language in the book, just that more in a general.
This would be a great book for those people interested in the topic of the evolution and biology of humans. However, it will be difficult for many of them to find since the title says language.
February 19, 2025
Although the chapters sometimes felt disconnected initially, once I understood how each example fit into the narrative, I really started to appreciate this book.
There are several aspects that I enjoyed especially as one with a biology background.
Having a preexisting understanding of Tinbergen’s questions allowed me to view each example provided as either proximate (how, what) or ultimate (why) to put it simply. This was like reading an animal behavior textbook in a conversational tone.
Using vernacular to break down complex concepts like the role of gene duplication as one contribution to speciation- I thought that I would hate it, but I didn’t. Instead I got really excited that when this book publishes, I am buying a copy and sharing with my biology students who might not understand the textbook explanations.
So without getting into the weeds of all the parts of this book that I really quite liked, let’s just say that this book probably isn’t for everyone. I liked this better than Sapiens. I will be buying a copy of this book when it publishes, and I think that biology teachers of undergraduate level courses may find value in this.
For that alone, I am giving this book a 4.5⭐️ rating.
Thank you publishers and NetGalley for this ARC and opportunity to review it.
There are several aspects that I enjoyed especially as one with a biology background.
Having a preexisting understanding of Tinbergen’s questions allowed me to view each example provided as either proximate (how, what) or ultimate (why) to put it simply. This was like reading an animal behavior textbook in a conversational tone.
Using vernacular to break down complex concepts like the role of gene duplication as one contribution to speciation- I thought that I would hate it, but I didn’t. Instead I got really excited that when this book publishes, I am buying a copy and sharing with my biology students who might not understand the textbook explanations.
So without getting into the weeds of all the parts of this book that I really quite liked, let’s just say that this book probably isn’t for everyone. I liked this better than Sapiens. I will be buying a copy of this book when it publishes, and I think that biology teachers of undergraduate level courses may find value in this.
For that alone, I am giving this book a 4.5⭐️ rating.
Thank you publishers and NetGalley for this ARC and opportunity to review it.
August 10, 2025
takie może 3,75, ale z gwiazdką, że polecam, bo czasami jest trochę chaotycznie, czasami zbyt jak dla mnie naukowo, ale mimo wszystko to arcyciekawa rozprawa na temat ewolucji człowieka,
obala mity o „instynkcie macierzyńskim”, „naturalnym” podziale ról w pradawnych społecznościach i cudownym „genie języka”, a w zamian daje własną hipotezę — że język powstał, bo ludzkie niemowlęta były tak bezradne, że trzeba było się dogadać, żeby je utrzymać przy życiu
po drodze historie o szympansach, mrówkach, pszczołach i innych mistrzach komunikacji oraz sporo ewolucyjnych wpadek, które przypadkiem doprowadziły nas do internetu i rozmów o AI
obala mity o „instynkcie macierzyńskim”, „naturalnym” podziale ról w pradawnych społecznościach i cudownym „genie języka”, a w zamian daje własną hipotezę — że język powstał, bo ludzkie niemowlęta były tak bezradne, że trzeba było się dogadać, żeby je utrzymać przy życiu
po drodze historie o szympansach, mrówkach, pszczołach i innych mistrzach komunikacji oraz sporo ewolucyjnych wpadek, które przypadkiem doprowadziły nas do internetu i rozmów o AI
July 20, 2025
Madeleine Beekman's expertise shines through in this book. I really enjoyed it but my biggest complaint, and the reason for my raiting, is that it emphasized too much on the "why" we learned to speak and not much on the "how."
In all, this was a great dive into evolutionary biology, guiding us through the human brain and how overall awesome it is. I honestly love this sort of stuff but as a scholar who studies language, I expected more ABOUT the actual language part.
I did enjoy the highly detailed explanations about evolution, biology and behavior changes we made. One of the concepts that sticks out the most from this book is the explanation of why humans have so much white in our eyes. Compared to other animals, we have a lot to better communicate because we can better understand where someone is looking! This is the sort of stuff I love to learn and read about!
I do plan on picking up another book by Dr. Beekman and I hope she dives into language more!
In all, this was a great dive into evolutionary biology, guiding us through the human brain and how overall awesome it is. I honestly love this sort of stuff but as a scholar who studies language, I expected more ABOUT the actual language part.
I did enjoy the highly detailed explanations about evolution, biology and behavior changes we made. One of the concepts that sticks out the most from this book is the explanation of why humans have so much white in our eyes. Compared to other animals, we have a lot to better communicate because we can better understand where someone is looking! This is the sort of stuff I love to learn and read about!
I do plan on picking up another book by Dr. Beekman and I hope she dives into language more!
May 17, 2025
Review: The Origin of Language: How We Learned to Speak and Why by Madeleine Beekman
Overview
Madeleine Beekman’s The Origin of Language is a fascinating exploration of one of humanity’s greatest mysteries: the dawn of speech. Blending evolutionary biology, genetics, and anthropology, Beekman traces the “happy accidents” in our DNA that paved the way for language, offering a compelling narrative that bridges hard science and accessible storytelling. This is not just a dry academic treatise—it’s a detective story spanning millennia, revealing how our ancestors’ grunts and gestures evolved into the complex communication systems we use today.
Key Strengths
-Interdisciplinary Depth: Beekman seamlessly weaves genetics, linguistics, and anthropology into a cohesive theory, making complex concepts digestible without oversimplifying.
-Engaging Prose: The writing is lively and evocative, with vivid analogies (like honeybee linguistics) that illuminate abstract ideas.
-Fresh Perspectives: Challenges traditional theories (e.g., sudden “language gene” mutations) by emphasizing gradual, multifactorial evolution.
-Narrative Momentum: Reads like a scientific odyssey, with each chapter uncovering new clues—from chromosome structures to primate vocalizations.
Critical Considerations
-Niche Appeal: Readers seeking a purely literary or philosophical take on language may find the heavy science daunting.
-Speculative Sections: Some hypotheses, while intriguing, remain contentious (e.g., the role of “parent-of-origin effects” in speech development).
-Limited Cultural Analysis: Focuses heavily on biological origins, with less exploration of sociocultural influences on language diversity.
Score Breakdown (0–5 Stars)
-Originality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) – Synthesizes cutting-edge research into a bold, unified theory.
-Clarity: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5/5) – Science made vivid, though occasional jargon requires patience.
-Narrative Flow: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) – Propulsive but occasionally digressive.
-Impact: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) – Leaves readers rethinking what makes us human.
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5/5) – A symphony of science and storytelling—echoes long after the last page.
Who Should Read This?
-Fans of Sapiens or The Dawn of Language craving a DNA-deep dive.
-Science enthusiasts curious about the intersection of evolution and communication.
-Writers/educators seeking to understand language’s biological roots.
Final Thoughts
Beekman’s work is a triumph of scientific communication, proving that the story of language is as much about our bodies as our minds.
Gratitude
Thank you to NetGalley and Madeleine Beekman for the advance review copy. This book is a masterclass in making the primordial feel palpably alive.
(Note: Review based on an uncorrected proof; final publication may vary.)
Overview
Madeleine Beekman’s The Origin of Language is a fascinating exploration of one of humanity’s greatest mysteries: the dawn of speech. Blending evolutionary biology, genetics, and anthropology, Beekman traces the “happy accidents” in our DNA that paved the way for language, offering a compelling narrative that bridges hard science and accessible storytelling. This is not just a dry academic treatise—it’s a detective story spanning millennia, revealing how our ancestors’ grunts and gestures evolved into the complex communication systems we use today.
Key Strengths
-Interdisciplinary Depth: Beekman seamlessly weaves genetics, linguistics, and anthropology into a cohesive theory, making complex concepts digestible without oversimplifying.
-Engaging Prose: The writing is lively and evocative, with vivid analogies (like honeybee linguistics) that illuminate abstract ideas.
-Fresh Perspectives: Challenges traditional theories (e.g., sudden “language gene” mutations) by emphasizing gradual, multifactorial evolution.
-Narrative Momentum: Reads like a scientific odyssey, with each chapter uncovering new clues—from chromosome structures to primate vocalizations.
Critical Considerations
-Niche Appeal: Readers seeking a purely literary or philosophical take on language may find the heavy science daunting.
-Speculative Sections: Some hypotheses, while intriguing, remain contentious (e.g., the role of “parent-of-origin effects” in speech development).
-Limited Cultural Analysis: Focuses heavily on biological origins, with less exploration of sociocultural influences on language diversity.
Score Breakdown (0–5 Stars)
-Originality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) – Synthesizes cutting-edge research into a bold, unified theory.
-Clarity: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5/5) – Science made vivid, though occasional jargon requires patience.
-Narrative Flow: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) – Propulsive but occasionally digressive.
-Impact: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) – Leaves readers rethinking what makes us human.
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ (4.5/5) – A symphony of science and storytelling—echoes long after the last page.
Who Should Read This?
-Fans of Sapiens or The Dawn of Language craving a DNA-deep dive.
-Science enthusiasts curious about the intersection of evolution and communication.
-Writers/educators seeking to understand language’s biological roots.
Final Thoughts
Beekman’s work is a triumph of scientific communication, proving that the story of language is as much about our bodies as our minds.
Gratitude
Thank you to NetGalley and Madeleine Beekman for the advance review copy. This book is a masterclass in making the primordial feel palpably alive.
(Note: Review based on an uncorrected proof; final publication may vary.)
June 11, 2025
My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this new book that looks at why humans, language, evolution, genes and the nurturing and care of children that lead to so many changes.
I grew up in the Bronx with both of my grandparents watching my brother and I when parents had to work. Both sets of grandparents were immigrants from Ireland. My father's side had no real accent, something that I picked up. My mother's parents had a bit of a brogue, and lapsed into Gaelic, usually in times of stress, joy, or when cursing. This happened a lot as my brother and I were bit of a handful, add in some of the cousins, were annoying bunch. I always thought they were nonsense words, or words to cover up bad words. I had no idea Gaelic was a language, nor that people learned languages outside of what I knew. This was he seventies, we really were culturally ignorant. More so when I moved to Connecticut. Language was used o make sure us stupid kids didn't fall off the fire escape, or climb into the garbage shoot, or fall off a roof, stuff we tried to do. One could say this is how many humans have survived, and according to this book, why along with a lot of biology that humans began to communicate. The Origin of Language: How We Learned to Speak and Why by Madeleine Beekman is a history on how humans were able to speak, having families made this necessary as well as a look at how humans adapted and changed over the years.
The book begins with babies, the authors own and the author's fascination with watching them pick up social cues so quickly. Children are schemers, able to see tells in a human like a conman cheating a mark. Eyes, hands, voice, children pick this up, knowing when things are going well, when things aren't and trying to make them fit the narrative the children want. The book than looks at various fields of science, from DNA, to evolution, covering a lot of time and locations. A bear walking upright from injured front paws, that show changes in the bones, to bodies of different humans, showing changes at various times. Beekman points out the problems that babies cause for people: babies take a lot of time and effort to keep alive. For a long time. Language, and communication would help with this, and Beekman uses many examples to prove this.
I wasn't sure what I expected from the book, but I found the book interesting, and gave me much to think about. As a person who never wanted children, I never gave much thought to how much needs to be communicated to keep children safe. Even as an uncle, I never thought about this, but a recent fishing trip with the youngest amazed me that even at his age, safety was last on his list of things he cared about. Beekman is a very good writer, explaining things well, and even I could follow along on many things. I loved the facts and different ideas that Beekman posits, as well as the sly humor that Beekman injects into the narrative. I can see where some of this might be controversial, but the ease in which Beekman discusses the subject, answering paragraphs later questing that were occuring to me really made for a compelling argument.
Not a book for everyone. I must admit to having to read a few things twice, maybe more just to be sure I was understanding things. However the book has a lot of information, is presented well, and is quite readable. A book that I am sure will start a lot of conversations.
I grew up in the Bronx with both of my grandparents watching my brother and I when parents had to work. Both sets of grandparents were immigrants from Ireland. My father's side had no real accent, something that I picked up. My mother's parents had a bit of a brogue, and lapsed into Gaelic, usually in times of stress, joy, or when cursing. This happened a lot as my brother and I were bit of a handful, add in some of the cousins, were annoying bunch. I always thought they were nonsense words, or words to cover up bad words. I had no idea Gaelic was a language, nor that people learned languages outside of what I knew. This was he seventies, we really were culturally ignorant. More so when I moved to Connecticut. Language was used o make sure us stupid kids didn't fall off the fire escape, or climb into the garbage shoot, or fall off a roof, stuff we tried to do. One could say this is how many humans have survived, and according to this book, why along with a lot of biology that humans began to communicate. The Origin of Language: How We Learned to Speak and Why by Madeleine Beekman is a history on how humans were able to speak, having families made this necessary as well as a look at how humans adapted and changed over the years.
The book begins with babies, the authors own and the author's fascination with watching them pick up social cues so quickly. Children are schemers, able to see tells in a human like a conman cheating a mark. Eyes, hands, voice, children pick this up, knowing when things are going well, when things aren't and trying to make them fit the narrative the children want. The book than looks at various fields of science, from DNA, to evolution, covering a lot of time and locations. A bear walking upright from injured front paws, that show changes in the bones, to bodies of different humans, showing changes at various times. Beekman points out the problems that babies cause for people: babies take a lot of time and effort to keep alive. For a long time. Language, and communication would help with this, and Beekman uses many examples to prove this.
I wasn't sure what I expected from the book, but I found the book interesting, and gave me much to think about. As a person who never wanted children, I never gave much thought to how much needs to be communicated to keep children safe. Even as an uncle, I never thought about this, but a recent fishing trip with the youngest amazed me that even at his age, safety was last on his list of things he cared about. Beekman is a very good writer, explaining things well, and even I could follow along on many things. I loved the facts and different ideas that Beekman posits, as well as the sly humor that Beekman injects into the narrative. I can see where some of this might be controversial, but the ease in which Beekman discusses the subject, answering paragraphs later questing that were occuring to me really made for a compelling argument.
Not a book for everyone. I must admit to having to read a few things twice, maybe more just to be sure I was understanding things. However the book has a lot of information, is presented well, and is quite readable. A book that I am sure will start a lot of conversations.
March 18, 2025
An evolutionary biologist writes about how the human species adopted language. The author of this new book is a professor of behavioral ecology at the University of Sydney. She writes of identifying a theory of the origin of language as she cared and nurtured her own young children. Beekman developed a theory of the origin of language as directly tied to child birth and the family’s rearing of their very dependent children during the extensive childhood of the human species. The evolutionary theory recognizes and builds upon the longer childhood and near total dependency of children on their parents and others around them. Communal support was necessary for this longer term of childhood development. Language is a key to individual development. She calls these the “happy accidents” of human evolutionary development. The author’s final question is “are we still evolving?” Our evolutionary heritage has prepared our species to live, work, and thrive in communal groups. She writes that “we were not meant to go it alone.” This final chapter adresses the “modern family” and how it may be contrary to the family developed early in species’ history. It was cultural evolution that brought the nuclear family we see all around us today. Beekman concludes with the affirmation that we really do need a village in which we can raise our children. Evolution helped devise a tool to help in the difficult task of raising children. Highly recommended for readers interested in ideas of human nature and development.
April 3, 2025
I write this review with a heavy heart. I must emphasize that the author has a talent for writing. But this is just such a puzzling book!
The content is supposed to be about language and how we developed it as a species. But up until at least the halfway point, there is absolutely nothing about (or clearly linked to) language.
A lot of this is about genes and biology, which I suspect is where the author's expertise lies. There may very well be reasons for covering these topics, but I couldn't figure them out ... and I don't think the reader is supposed to. I think it's the author's job to weave a proper tale for us and make these links clear.
I leave this book with more confusion than clarity over how we evolved to have language.
Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Simon & Schuster for the advance copy.
The content is supposed to be about language and how we developed it as a species. But up until at least the halfway point, there is absolutely nothing about (or clearly linked to) language.
A lot of this is about genes and biology, which I suspect is where the author's expertise lies. There may very well be reasons for covering these topics, but I couldn't figure them out ... and I don't think the reader is supposed to. I think it's the author's job to weave a proper tale for us and make these links clear.
I leave this book with more confusion than clarity over how we evolved to have language.
Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Simon & Schuster for the advance copy.
July 29, 2025
An evolutionary biologist explores how the the helplessness of human babies at birth necessitated unprecedented cooperation and communication, ultimately leading to the development of human language.
This brilliant, easy-to-read book is not about linguistics but instead focuses on a multidisciplinary approach to physical and cognitive evolution. For instance, as human ancestors became bipedal, mothers started carrying their babies in their arms rather than on their backs. This inhibited their ability to collect food, perhaps forcing them to form a pair bond with the baby’s father in order to keep the infant alive. Physical changes required social changes on a seven-million-year odyssey leading to language. Anyone interested in human evolution, particularly cognitive evolution, will enjoy this book.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
This brilliant, easy-to-read book is not about linguistics but instead focuses on a multidisciplinary approach to physical and cognitive evolution. For instance, as human ancestors became bipedal, mothers started carrying their babies in their arms rather than on their backs. This inhibited their ability to collect food, perhaps forcing them to form a pair bond with the baby’s father in order to keep the infant alive. Physical changes required social changes on a seven-million-year odyssey leading to language. Anyone interested in human evolution, particularly cognitive evolution, will enjoy this book.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
March 18, 2025
This is an interesting book digging into man’s evolution as preparation for the development of language. The authors voice is easy to read and down to earth with interesting factoids that kept the scientific detail from bogging down. I never was bored. The point was lost because I didn't feel the question posted by the title was sufficiently answered. That could just be me. I'd love to hear what others think.
August 17, 2025
A look at our deep history of communication
Beekman takes us through a series of genetic glitches that allowed for and instigated bigger brains, and then marshals a variety of science studies to conclude that human childcare was the key selective pressure to make us chatty and cooperative masters of our own fate.
Are we really such masters? What more do we have to learn from the communication and cooperation found in nature?
Beekman takes us through a series of genetic glitches that allowed for and instigated bigger brains, and then marshals a variety of science studies to conclude that human childcare was the key selective pressure to make us chatty and cooperative masters of our own fate.
Are we really such masters? What more do we have to learn from the communication and cooperation found in nature?
May 22, 2025
Thoroughly enjoyed!
August 20, 2025
Great book, although the actually part on language development is quite short. It’s more a biological than a linguistic perspective on the evolution of speech - still very fascinating.
September 6, 2025
Great hypothesis, tonnes and tonnes of scientific detail to back up the hypothesis, anecdotes and accessible human stories to add dimension to the drier science.
May 20, 2025
I struggled with this book.The repetition, the careful phrasing of ideas and thoughts and beliefs rather than scientific facts; the fact that at 37% into the book we had skipped from DNA and how humans are related to bananas to talks about how pelvises work, then on to fetuses, which are shaped like a comma. This reads like simplified trivia in parts, and the presentation wasn’t working for me.
The tone wasn’t quite conversational, not quite educational, but felt .. like a teacher explaining things to a much younger student. Not in an offensive way, just a very simplified way that skipped over details in order to give a gist of the bigger picture. And it was boring.
I could follow along the path of evolution, DNA, traits and behaviors, the cost of childbirth and mutations — but by now I was 30% in, when penis bones, spines, and knots are mentioned — and I’m still bored. I can follow the author’s path, from genes to childbirth, reproduction to the loss of a chromosomal pair and how that affects human fertility (which then leads into a talk about Tinder and cane toad sex and on into incest) but … the writing isn’t strong enough to hold my interest, and nothing is well explained. It’s too simplified, too speculative, too focused on forced analogies and segues.
I don’t know who the audience for this book is, but it isn’t me. I’m sorry, this book is a solid pass. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.
The tone wasn’t quite conversational, not quite educational, but felt .. like a teacher explaining things to a much younger student. Not in an offensive way, just a very simplified way that skipped over details in order to give a gist of the bigger picture. And it was boring.
I could follow along the path of evolution, DNA, traits and behaviors, the cost of childbirth and mutations — but by now I was 30% in, when penis bones, spines, and knots are mentioned — and I’m still bored. I can follow the author’s path, from genes to childbirth, reproduction to the loss of a chromosomal pair and how that affects human fertility (which then leads into a talk about Tinder and cane toad sex and on into incest) but … the writing isn’t strong enough to hold my interest, and nothing is well explained. It’s too simplified, too speculative, too focused on forced analogies and segues.
I don’t know who the audience for this book is, but it isn’t me. I’m sorry, this book is a solid pass. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.
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