Language: The Cultural Tool

Everett, Daniel L.

ISBN 10: 0307473805 / ISBN 13: 9780307473806

Published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2012

Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0307473805I4N10

Synopsis:

"The most important--and provocative--anthropological fieldwork ever undertaken." --Tom Wolfe

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. In this bold and provocative study, 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. Combining anthropology, primatology, computer science, philosophy, linguistics, psychology, and his own pioneering research with the Amazonian Pirahã, and using insights from many different languages and cultures, Everett presents 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.

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.

www.daneverettbooks.com

Bibliographic Details

Title: Language: The Cultural Tool
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication Date: 2012
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket