How did language appear? How did we start talking? What was the first conversation about? The origin of language is one of the greatest mysteries of history. We are still far from solving it, but with the help of archaeology, neurology, linguistics, and biology, we can draw conclusions, reject old hypotheses, and ask new questions. The search for the origin of language begins many millions of years ago, when modern apes and humans followed their separate evolutionary paths, and ends about five thousand years ago, when the first languages ​​similar to modern ones appeared. The author, linguist Sverker Johansson, presents new theories about how and why people began to speak, and will also introduce you to the ideas of Chomsky and other recognized linguists. If you want to understand how human language emerged and why we speak the way we do, then this book is for you.