Review of Ronald J. Planer and Kim Sterelny's From Signal to Symbol: The Evolution of Language.

"From Signal to Symbol: The Evolution of Language" by Ronald J. Planer and Kim Sterelny is a recent book that contributes to the ongoing debate on how language evolved. The authors propose a theory of language origins that is gradualist, gesture-first, an example of "mosaic evolution," and couched in a sender-receiver framework. They provide a clear and comprehensive account of language origins, satisfying several language-explanation criteria. The book offers a plausible and empirically principled narrative of how language evolved, drawing on empirical evidence from comparative biology, paleoanthropology, and other fields. While some claims are supported by the authors' prior work, the book serves as an exciting and detailed introduction to the subject of language origins. [Extracted from the article]