Words And Rules (Paperback)

Prof Steven Pinker

ISBN 10: 0753810255 / ISBN 13: 9780753810255

Published by Orion Publishing Co, London, 2001

About this Item

Paperback. How does language work? How do children learn their mother tongue? Why do languages change over time, making Chaucer's English almost incomprehensible? Steven Pinker explains the profound mysteries of language by picking a deceptively simple single phenomenon and examining it from every angle. That phenomenon - the existence of regular and irregular verbs - connects an astonishing array of topics in the sciences and humanities: the history of languages; the illuminating errors of children as they begin to speak; the sources of the major themes in the history of Western philosophy; the latest techniques in identifying genes and imaging the living brain. Pinker makes sense of all of this with the help of a single, powerful idea: that language comprises a mental dictionary of memorized words and a mental grammar of creative rules. An account of how language actually works. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780753810255

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Words And Rules (Paperback)
• Publisher: Orion Publishing Co, London
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0753810255
• ISBN 13: 9780753810255
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

One of the world's science superstars presents a brilliantly illuminating, entertaining and cutting-edge account of how language actually works.

How does language work? How do children learn their mother tongue? Why do languages change over time, making Chaucer's English almost incomprehensible? Steven Pinker explains the profound mysteries of language by picking a deceptively simple single phenomenon and examining it from every angle. That phenomenon - the existence of regular and irregular verbs - connects an astonishing array of topics in the sciences and humanities: the history of languages; the illuminating errors of children as they begin to speak; the sources of the major themes in the history of Western philosophy; the latest techniques in identifying genes and imaging the living brain. Pinker makes sense of all of this with the help of a single, powerful idea: that language comprises a mental dictionary of memorized words and a mental grammar of creative rules.

About the Author

Steven Pinker is Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of the Technology.