ABSTRACT
Everyone who deals with evolution has occasion to use and to understand statements in the special language of taxonomy and classification. Communication is impeded by the facts that not all who use that language speak it fluently and that those fluent in it do not all speak the same dialect. In our conference on classification in relationship to human evolution we were talking this language much of the time. The main function of this contribution was to discuss the grammar and semantics of a reasonably standard dialect of the language. Centering the discussion on hominoid classification brings up and may clarify certain crucial points. This chapter is not, however, concerned with expressing opinions about human classification and evolution, but with discussing how such opinions are or should be expressed. I have recently covered theoretical aspects of animal taxonomy in some detail (Simpson, 1961), and mere repetition of parts of that book is here avoided.
