The Language Instinct: How The Mind Creates LanguageHarper Collins, 2010 M12 14 - 576 pages "A brilliant, witty, and altogether satisfying book." — New York Times Book Review The classic work on the development of human language by the world’s leading expert on language and the mind In The Language Instinct, the world's expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution. The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistics Society of America. This edition includes an update on advances in the science of language since The Language Instinct was first published. |
From inside the book
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How The Mind Creates Language Steven Pinker. NATIONAL BESTSELLER " A brilliant , witty , and altogether satisfying ... Pinker's. Front Cover.
How The Mind Creates Language Steven Pinker. MORE PRAISE FOR The Language Instinct " Reading Steven Pinker's book is one of the biggest favors I've ever done my brain . It is the sort of writing that any genuine expert on a subject longs ...
... Pinker excavates like a pig after truffles . Professor Pinker . . . was a brave man to write this book , for who would have taken it seriously if it had been clodhoppingly written ? As it happens , he writes splendidly . " -The Times ...
... Pinker's book is certain to increase its readers ' respect for the amazing natural phenomena that the author and his colleagues have made their life's study . " -Nature " Somebody finally got it right . Steve Pinker's thoroughly modern ...
... Pinker's conclusions , but they will greatly enjoy the experience of the journey through his mind . ” -New Scientist " [ A ] brilliant exposition ... he expounds ideas with clarity , wit , and polish . " -The Observer " Pinker is ...
Contents
1 | |
12 | |
44 | |
How Language Works | 74 |
Words Words Words | 119 |
The Sounds of Silence | 153 |
Talking Heads | 190 |
The Tower of Babel | 231 |
Language Organs and Grammar Genes | 302 |
The Big Bang | 340 |
The Language Mavens | 382 |
Mind Design | 419 |
Notes | 449 |
References | 469 |
Glossary | 503 |
Index | 517 |