What Language Is
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What Language Is
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Author : John McWhorter
language : en
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date : 2013-02-12
What Language Is written by John McWhorter and has been published by Penguin this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2013-02-12 with Language Arts & Disciplines categories.
New York Times bestselling author and renowned linguist, John McWhorter, explores the complicated and fascinating world of languages. From Standard English to Black English; obscure tongues only spoken by a few thousand people in the world to the big ones like Mandarin - What Language Is celebrates the history and curiosities of languages around the world and smashes our assumptions about "correct" grammar. An eye-opening tour for all language lovers, What Language Is offers a fascinating new perspective on the way humans communicate. From vanishing languages spoken by a few hundred people to major tongues like Chinese, with copious revelations about the hodgepodge nature of English, John McWhorter shows readers how to see and hear languages as a linguist does. Packed with Big Ideas about language alongside wonderful trivia, What Language Is explains how languages across the globe (the Queen's English and Surinam creoles alike) originate, evolve, multiply, and divide. Raising provocative questions about what qualifies as a language (so-called slang does have structured grammar), McWhorter also takes readers on a marvelous journey through time and place-from Persian to the languages of Sri Lanka- to deliver a feast of facts about the wonders of human linguistic expression.
The Truth About Language
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Author : Michael C. Corballis
language : en
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Release Date : 2024-05-31
The Truth About Language written by Michael C. Corballis and has been published by University of Chicago Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2024-05-31 with Science categories.
Evolutionary science has long viewed language as, basically, a fortunate accident—a crossing of wires that happened to be extraordinarily useful, setting humans apart from other animals and onto a trajectory that would see their brains (and the products of those brains) become increasingly complex. But as Michael C. Corballis shows in The Truth about Language, it's time to reconsider those assumptions. Language, he argues, is not the product of some "big bang" 60,000 years ago, but rather the result of a typically slow process of evolution with roots in elements of grammatical language found much farther back in our evolutionary history. Language, Corballis explains, evolved as a way to share thoughts—and, crucially for human development, to connect our own "mental time travel," our imagining of events and people that are not right in front of us, to that of other people. We share that ability with other animals, but it was the development of language that made it powerful: it led to our ability to imagine other perspectives, to imagine ourselves in the minds of others, a development that, by easing social interaction, proved to be an extraordinary evolutionary advantage. Even as his thesis challenges such giants as Chomsky and Stephen Jay Gould, Corballis writes accessibly and wittily, filling his account with unforgettable anecdotes and fascinating historical examples. The result is a book that's perfect both for deep engagement and as brilliant fodder for that lightest of all forms of language, cocktail party chatter.
The Language Instinct
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Author : Steven Pinker
language : en
Publisher: Penguin UK
Release Date : 2003-02-27
The Language Instinct written by Steven Pinker and has been published by Penguin UK this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2003-02-27 with Philosophy categories.
'Dazzling...Pinker's big idea is that language is an instinct...as innate to us as flying is to geese...Words can hardly do justice to the superlative range and liveliness of Pinker's investigations' - Independent 'A marvellously readable book...illuminates every facet of human language: its biological origin, its uniqueness to humanity, it acquisition by children, its grammatical structure, the production and perception of speech, the pathology of language disorders and the unstoppable evolution of languages and dialects' - Nature
The Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Author : Hugh Chisholm
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 1911
The Encyclopaedia Britannica written by Hugh Chisholm and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1911 with Encyclopedias and dictionaries categories.
The Way Of The Linguist
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Author : Steve Kaufmann
language : en
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Release Date : 2005-11
The Way Of The Linguist written by Steve Kaufmann and has been published by AuthorHouse this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2005-11 with Education categories.
The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey. It is now a cliché that the world is a smaller place. We think nothing of jumping on a plane to travel to another country or continent. The most exotic locations are now destinations for mass tourism. Small business people are dealing across frontiers and language barriers like never before. The Internet brings different languages and cultures to our finger-tips. English, the hybrid language of an island at the western extremity of Europe seems to have an unrivalled position as an international medium of communication. But historically periods of cultural and economic domination have never lasted forever. Do we not lose something by relying on the wide spread use of English rather than discovering other languages and cultures? As citizens of this shrunken world, would we not be better off if we were able to speak a few languages other than our own? The answer is obviously yes. Certainly Steve Kaufmann thinks so, and in his busy life as a diplomat and businessman he managed to learn to speak nine languages fluently and observe first hand some of the dominant cultures of Europe and Asia. Why do not more people do the same? In his book The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey, Steve offers some answers. Steve feels anyone can learn a language if they want to. He points out some of the obstacles that hold people back. Drawing on his adventures in Europe and Asia, as a student and businessman, he describes the rewards that come from knowing languages. He relates his evolution as a language learner, abroad and back in his native Canada and explains the kind of attitude that will enable others to achieve second language fluency. Many people have taken on the challenge of language learning but have been frustrated by their lack of success. This book offers detailed advice on the kind of study practices that will achieve language breakthroughs. Steve has developed a language learning system available online at: www.thelinguist.com.
The Loom Of Language
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Author : Frederick Bodmer
language : en
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Release Date : 1985
The Loom Of Language written by Frederick Bodmer and has been published by W. W. Norton & Company this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1985 with Language Arts & Disciplines categories.
Here is an informative introduction to language: its origins in the past, its growth through history, and its present use for communication between peoples. It is at the same time a history of language, a guide to foreign tongues, and a method for learning them. It shows, through basic vocabularies, family resemblances of languages -- Teutonic, Romance, Greek -- helpful tricks of translation, key combinations of roots and phonetic patterns. It presents by common-sense methods the most helpful approach to the mastery of many languages; it condenses vocabulary to a minimum of essential words; it simplifies grammar in an entirely new way; and it teaches a language as it is actually used in everyday life.
The Evolution Of Language
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Author : W. Tecumseh Fitch
language : en
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Release Date : 2010-04
The Evolution Of Language written by W. Tecumseh Fitch and has been published by Cambridge University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2010-04 with Language Arts & Disciplines categories.
This book brings together the most important insights from the vast amount of literature on the origin of language.
The Cambridge Handbook Of Language Policy
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Author : Bernard Spolsky
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2012-03
The Cambridge Handbook Of Language Policy written by Bernard Spolsky and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2012-03 with Education categories.
This is the first Handbook to deal with language policy as a whole and is a complete 'state-of-the-field' survey, covering language practices, beliefs about language varieties, and methods and agencies for language management. It will be welcomed by students, researchers and language professionals in linguistics, education and politics.
The Five Love Languages
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Author : Gary Chapman
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2016-06-30
The Five Love Languages written by Gary Chapman and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-06-30 with categories.
In The 5 Love Languages, you will discover the secret that has transformed millions of relationships worldwide. Whether your relationship is flourishing or failing, Dr. Gary Chapman s proven approach to showing and receiving love will help you experience deeper and richer levels of intimacy with your partner starting today.
Questions About Language
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Author : Laurie Bauer
language : en
Publisher: Routledge
Release Date : 2020
Questions About Language written by Laurie Bauer and has been published by Routledge this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2020 with Language and languages categories.
Questions about Language sets out to answer, in a readable yet insightful format, a series of vital questions about language, some of which language specialists are regularly asked, and some of which are so surprising that only the specialists think about them. With an introduction by the editors, in this handy guide, sixteen experts in the field answer some challenging questions about language from, What makes a language a language? to Do people swear because they don't know enough words? Illustrating the complexity of human language, and the way in which we use it, the twelve chapters each end with a section on further reading for anyone interested in following up on the topic. Covering core questions about language, this is essential reading for both students new to language and linguistics and the interested general reader.