The roots of language | Paul Ibbotson and Michael Tomasello

At the heart of our unique language ability lie other forms of cognition and cooperation, argue Paul Ibbotson and Michael Tomasello

The natural world is full of wondrous adaptations such as camouflage, migration and echolocation. In one sense, the quintessentially human ability to use language is no more remarkable than these other talents. However, unlike these other adaptations, language seems to have evolved just once, in one out of 8.7 million species on earth today. The hunt is on to explain the foundations of this ability and what makes us different from other animals.