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The Language Instinct Steven Pinker

The Language Instinct By Steven Pinker

The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker


$15.49
Condition - Very Good
<20 in stock

Summary

How do we 'know' how to speak? In this book, the author shows how language is part of our genetic inheritance rather than a cultural creation. It destroys myths about language - that children learn to talk by copying their parents, that grammatical standards are in decline - revealing innate human instinct to communicate that we are all born with.

The Language Instinct Summary

The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language by Steven Pinker

Steven Pinker's The Language Instinct: The New Science of Language and Mind is a groundbreaking study of language's origins as an evolutionary adaptation. How do we 'know' how to speak? In his landmark book Stephen Pinker shows how language is part of our genetic inheritance rather than a cultural creation. From the DNA that builds our brains to the pontification of newspaper columnists, Pinker destroys the myths about language - that children learn to talk by copying their parents, that grammatical standards are in decline, that English defies logic - revealing the innate human instinct to communicate that we are all born with. 'Reading Steven Pinker's book is one of the biggest favours I've ever done my brain ... highly accessible to the general reader yet at the same time seminal for professionals ... exhilaratingly brilliant' Richard Dawkins 'An extremely valuable book, very informative, and very well written' Noam Chomsky 'Brilliant ... Pinker describes every aspect of language, from the resolution of ambiguity to the way speech evolved ... he expounds difficult ideas with clarity, wit and polish' Observer 'Dazzling ... Pinker's big idea is that language is an instinct, as innate to us as language is to geese ... Words can hardly do justice to the superlative range and liveliness of Pinker's investigations' Independent Steven Pinker is a best-selling author and Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for cognitive Neuroscience at MIT. Pinker has been awarded research prizes from the National Academy of Sciences and the American Psychological Association, graduate and undergraduate teaching prizes from MIT, and book prizes from the American Psychological Association, the Linguistics Society of America and the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Better Angels of Our Nature, and The Language Instinct.

About Steven Pinker

Steven Pinker is one of the world's most influential thinkers and writers on the human condition. His popular and highly praised books include The Better Angels of Our Nature, The Sense of Style, The Stuff of Thought, The Blank Slate, How the Mind Works, and The Language Instinct. The recipient of several major awards for his teaching, books, and scientific research, Pinker is Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He also writes frequently for The New York Times, the Guardian and other publications. He has been named Humanist of the Year, Prospect magazine's The World's Top 100 Public Intellectuals, Foreign Policy's 100 Global Thinkers, and Time magazine's The 100 Most Influential People in the World Today.

Table of Contents

An instinct to acquire and art; chatterboxes; mentalese; how language works; words, words, words; the sounds of silence; talking heads; the Tower of Babel; baby born talking - describes heaven; language organs and grammar genes; the Big Bang; the language mavens; mind design.

Additional information

GOR001230967
9780140175295
0140175296
The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language by Steven Pinker
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Penguin Books Ltd
19950330
496
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

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