Items related to Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language
Synopsis
An examination of the human ability to use language by an MIT professor traces the history and evolution of the English language, the theories of Noam Chomsky, the way children learn to use language, and much more. Reprint.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review
Steven Pinker has a very good ear; you know it instantly from his prose: elegant, accessible and very witty indeed. In Words and Rules, Pinker picks apart our language to reveal pro found truths about how we think.
Do we deduce rules from the world around us and behave rationally? Or do we free-associate, discovering the world through experience and creative analogy? The obvious answer is "both". But proof of the obvious answer has long eluded philosophers of mind. Pinker, though, believes he has found it--in the English past tense.
English verbs come in two flavours. Regular verbs have past tenses that look like the present-tense verb with "-ed" on the end--today I walk, yesterday I walked, etc. The second kind of English verb is irregular. Irregular past tenses follow no rules--today I buy, but yesterday I bought; today I hold, yesterday I held.
The way children distinguish between these different sorts of verbs as they learn to talk suggests they learn both by rule and by association. Proving this is Pinker's task--and it's a bravura performance.
It takes nothing away from that other recent lit-hit, Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue, to say that Pinker's book achieves an altogether deeper level of profundity. It says much for Pinker that in doing so, he can still match Bryson for wit and readability. --Simon Ings
Review
"[An excellent work of popular science."--Thomas Nagel, The New Republic
"the book provides a scholarly, persuasive, enjoyable, and eminently readable account of important language phenomena."--Nature
"Compelling and revelatory."--Guardian
"An intellectual joyride."--Globe and Mail
"Not only does Pinker breathe life into the topic, he makes the reading breathtakingly exciting."--Montreal Gazette
"A fascinating voyage of discovery."--Sunday Telegraph
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherPerennial
- Publication date2000
- ISBN 10 0060958405
- ISBN 13 9780060958404
- BindingPaperback
- LanguageEnglish
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Search results for Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language
Stock Image
Words and Rules The Ingredient
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Acceptable. Item in acceptable condition! Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00083582992
Quantity: 2 available
Stock Image
Words and Rules The Ingredient
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00084221974
Quantity: 3 available
Stock Image
Words and Rules The Ingredient
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Item in very good condition! Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00083026637
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Words and Rules : The Ingredients of Language
Published by
HarperCollins Publishers, 2000
ISBN 10: 0060958405
ISBN 13: 9780060958404
Used
Softcover
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 3081668-6
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Words and Rules : The Ingredients of Language
Published by
HarperCollins Publishers, 2000
ISBN 10: 0060958405
ISBN 13: 9780060958404
Used
Softcover
Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 3081667-6
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language
Seller: More Than Words, Waltham, MA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Seller Inventory # BOS-N-05e-01663
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Seller Inventory # R08B-02660
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Good condition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included. Seller Inventory # C02M-01732
Quantity: 2 available
Stock Image
Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language
Seller: ThriftBooks-Reno, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.65. Seller Inventory # G0060958405I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language
Seller: ThriftBooks-Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.65. Seller Inventory # G0060958405I4N00
Quantity: 1 available