Talk:Evolutionary psychology of language

Differentiation between this article and Evolutionary psychology
Currently there is a great deal of similarity between this article and the Language section in the Evolutionary psychology. Other than formatting/grouping of information, the only actual content differences seem to be:
 * The addition of the "Variation in human language" and "Communication in other animals" sections
 * A few unsourced comments at the end of some paragraphs/sections.

Is there a way to create greater differentiation by:
 * Summarizing the language content in Evolutionary psychology (or perhaps taking the intro for this article to the Evolutionary psychology article.)
 * Expanding this article, and perhaps editing so that the language isn't a copy-paste of the info in Evolutionary psychology
 * Something else?

If the Evolutionary psychology article wasn't already pretty large it would make sense to "merge" (i.e., just add the two sections and perhaps group the info the way it was grouped here). Votes or thoughts?-- CaroleHenson  ( talk ) 21:27, 14 April 2013 (UTC)


 * The Evolutionary psychology article is indeed already too long. Suggest keeping this article to allow more thorough exploration of the topic.  Psyc-prjct (talk) 23:48, 14 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Makes sense! And, I've since started a history section (a work in progress) for this article to help set context.-- CaroleHenson  ( talk ) 02:10, 15 April 2013 (UTC)
 * Hi there! First off, thank you for your time editing this page. This is my (and the colleagues who are helping me) first wiki article. We wanted to expand on the language section from the original article, which is why the information is the same. It should be differentiated from the origins of language because, though the topics converge on certain aspects (the universality of elements in language) it doesn't discuss the mechanisms behind why it evolved. Perhaps this is where we should focus more of our attention? There are certain theories, a couple of which are mentioned, regarding the mechanisms that led to the evolution of language. Would this article be stronger if the adaptation, by-product, and exaptation sections were expanded? Psych452 Nostlund (talk) 05:02, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

Content fork of Origin of language? / Lead need improvement / Removal of Linguistics box
Is this topic sufficiently distinct from the Origin of language to support a separate page? Evolutionary psychologists including Steven Pinker, Paul Bloom, Michael Tomasello, and others are already treated there, as are linguists, philosophers, and others. It seems like a merge may be warranted. Cnilep (talk) 03:22, 15 April 2013 (UTC)


 * It does need to be differentiated from Origin of language. I will devote time this evening adding information to provide a more distinct differentiation. The origins of language trace languages to a mother language, but does not specifically answer the evolutionary based questions we are attempting to answer here. Please check back tomorrow for updates. Psych452 Nostlund (talk) 03:04, 17 April 2013 (UTC)
 * This is wrong, you haven't read the article on Origin of Language which is not about historical linguistics but about theories about language arose and which covers evelotuinary theories of the origin of language in great depth. You are reduplicating material here that is already covered in that article - and much better covered there.User:Maunus ·ʍaunus·snunɐw· 16:33, 28 July 2013 (UTC)

Hello Psych452 Nostlund,

Actually, I too think it does need to be differentiated. A good start should be to conceive of a proper lead section, please see WP:LEAD – e.g., currently, qua first sentence this article is not about evolutionary psychology of langue at all, it is about the evolution of language.

Is there a particular reason for removing the Linguistics box?

Kind regards, 㓟 (talk) 09:30, 1 May 2013 (UTC)


 * I think it should be merged and redirected into Origin of language or Evolutionary linguistics. It is currently not written about the "evolutionary psychology of language} but about the evolution of language which is a different topic already covered in great detail at Origin of Language, and most of the scholars cited do not work within the paradigm of evolutionary psychology. The best thing to do would be to find some literature that supports the notion that suggest that "evolutionary psychology of language" is separate from the study of the evolution of language.User:Maunus ·ʍaunus·snunɐw· 16:30, 28 July 2013 (UTC)