Language in Hand: Why Sign Came Before Speech

William C Stokoe

The last book by the late father of American Sign Language Linguistics gathers his varied experiences through life and blends them with a survey of linguistic anthropological thought to refute assertions that speech was the first human language. In fact, Stokoe offers a solid, thought-provoking hypothesis that sign was the first language, used by ancestors that did not have well-developed larynx for speech, but did have highly refined hands for gesture and sign. Hardcover 232 pages April 2001

£27.50