Items related to Language: The Cultural Tool
Synopsis
A bold and provocative study that presents language not as an innate component of the brain—as most linguists do—but as an essential tool unique to each culture worldwide.
For years, the prevailing opinion among academics has been that language is embedded in our genes, existing as an innate and instinctual part of us. But linguist Daniel Everett argues that, like other tools, language was invented by humans and can be reinvented or lost. He shows how the evolution of different language forms—that is, different grammar—reflects how language is influenced by human societies and experiences, and how it expresses their great variety.
For example, the Amazonian Pirahã put words together in ways that violate our long-held under-standing of how language works, and Pirahã grammar expresses complex ideas very differently than English grammar does. Drawing on the Wari’ language of Brazil, Everett explains that speakers of all languages, in constructing their stories, omit things that all members of the culture understand. In addition, Everett discusses how some cultures can get by without words for numbers or counting, without verbs for “to say” or “to give,” illustrating how the very nature of what’s important in a language is culturally determined.
Combining anthropology, primatology, computer science, philosophy, linguistics, psychology, and his own pioneering—and adventurous—research with the Amazonian Pirahã, and using insights from many different languages and cultures, Everett gives us an unprecedented elucidation of this society-defined nature of language. In doing so, he also gives us a new understanding of how we think and who we are.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Daniel L. Everett is dean of arts and sciences at Bentley University. He has held appointments in linguistics and/or anthropology at the University of Campinas, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Manchester, and Illinois State University.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherPantheon
- Publication date2012
- ISBN 10 0307378535
- ISBN 13 9780307378538
- BindingHardcover
- LanguageEnglish
- Edition number1
- Number of pages368
Buy New
View this item
£ 24.77
£ 22.15 shipping from U.S.A. to United Kingdom
Destination, rates & speedsOther Popular Editions of the Same Title
Search results for Language: The Cultural Tool
Stock Image
Language : The Cultural Tool
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2012
ISBN 10: 0307378535
ISBN 13: 9780307378538
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 388495-6
Quantity: 2 available
Stock Image
Language: The Cultural Tool
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.49. Seller Inventory # G0307378535I3N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Language: The Cultural Tool
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.49. Seller Inventory # G0307378535I4N10
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Language: The Cultural Tool
Seller: ThriftBooks-Reno, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Missing dust jacket; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.49. Seller Inventory # G0307378535I3N01
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Language: The Cultural Tool
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.49. Seller Inventory # G0307378535I3N10
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Language: The Cultural Tool
Published by
Pantheon Books, New York, 2012
ISBN 10: 0307378535
ISBN 13: 9780307378538
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Quickhatch Books, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 351pp., index, biblio. Seller Inventory # 013014
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Language: The Cultural Tool
Seller: St Vincent de Paul of Lane County, Eugene, OR, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. hardcover 100% of proceeds go to charity! May have signs of use, wear and minor cosmetic defects. Seller Inventory # T-06-4434
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Language: The Cultural Tool
Seller: St Vincent de Paul of Lane County, Eugene, OR, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. THIS IS AN EX--LIBRARY BOOK THAT REMAINS COMPLETE AND READABLE GOOD CONDITION. Former Library book. hardcover This item shows wear from consistent use but remains in good readable condition. It may have marks on or in it, and may show other signs of previous use or shelf wear. May have minor creases or signs of wear on dust jacket. Packed with care, shipped promptly. Seller Inventory # W-002-2542
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Language: The Cultural Tool
Seller: Night Heron Books, Laramie, WY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Hardcover. No dust jacket. Minor wear to page edges and corners. No writing, highlighting, or marks in text. Seller Inventory # 765559
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Language: The Cultural Tool
Seller: Early Republic Books, Hopatcong, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: VG / VG. VERY-GOOD HARDBACK-WITH-DUSTJACKET. Seller Inventory # 96153
Quantity: 1 available