Language Evolution as an Interdisciplinary and Integrative Research Field

Language evolution research is a truly interdisciplinary research field that seeks to discover the origins, development, and mechanisms underlying language – one of humankind's most defining traits. Over the years, the field has transitioned from being rooted primarily in philosophy and linguistic theory to integrating perspectives from biology, cognitive science, anthropology, computational modelling, and beyond. This shift reflects the complex interplay of biological, cultural, and cognitive factors that shaped language over time.This article starts by giving a brief historical overview of language evolution research, tracing its development from early speculative theories to the current emphasis on empirical and interdisciplinary approaches. This is followed by a discussion of the field’s current state, offering an overview of contributing disciplines, including comparative research with non-human animals, experimental studies, historical corpus linguistics, computational modelling, and insights from palaeontology, archaeology, and neuroscience.Finally, we will explore emerging topics that will continue to reshape the field, such as the roles of multimodality and iconicity, advancements in deep learning and neural networks, and efforts to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion within the field. While this article cannot comprehensively address every discipline involved in language evolution research, it aims to provide an integrative perspective on key contributions and emerging trends, concluding with an outlook on future directions.