About this title: In this title, MIT Professor Steven Pinker explains the origins of language and its evolution, the instinctive way we use language, and the relationships between 'proper' languages and slang, pidgins, and other 'improper' versions.
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Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. 2000-Paperback----Used-Good-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Edition: Reprint, 2003
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Perennial; HarperCollins, New York
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9780060958336ISBN:0060958332
Description: Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. 494 pp., illus., biblio., index; 21 cm. Firm binding, creased spine. Unmarked. Droplet stain/one leaf. Browning. "In this classic, the world's expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: ... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Date Published: 9/4/2007
ISBN-13:9780061336461ISBN:0061336467
Description: Fine. 0061336467 NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing--Has a small black line on bottom/exterior edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780060958336ISBN:0060958332
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 544 p. Contains: Illustrations. Perennial Classics. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780061336461ISBN:0061336467
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 576 p. Contains: Illustrations. P.S. (Paperback). Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Perennial
Date Published: 2007-09-01
ISBN-13:9780061336461ISBN:0061336467
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780061336461. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780060958336ISBN:0060958332
Description: Good. --All NEW items are exactly as provided by the publisher. All USED items are in Good condition or better, and copies may contain store stickers, highlighting, etc from normal use by previous owner(s). One-time use supplements (e.g., access codes, tear-out flash cards, reference cards, etc) provided with new copies are NOT guaranteed. --Professional booksellers: inquiries always welcome. read more
"I was really surprised by this book. Pinker surveys some of the major research programs in linguistics, including in cases of overlap with fields such as neuroscience, psychology, and sociology. The book also provides several arguments in attempt to explain why it is that linguists pursue certain kinds of research programs. For example, the influence of Noam Chomsky's argument for a Universal Grammar is analyzed, and with Pinker's elucidations, seems to be a well-justified research program. The thesis of Universal Grammar amounts to the claim that people have innate brain structures for grammar; that is, people are hard-wired to speak as birds are hard-wired to fly. He also details some of the affinities that linguistics is revealing among the languages and some of the commonalities that appear as though they hold for various communities. Pinker believes, then, that finding common reference among different languages also provides folk with some idea of what counts as human nature. I can't say enough good things about the book. It's well-written, clear, and sometimes Pinker is just darn funny. Read this'n."
"It's only appropriate that a book about language be written engagingly, and Steven Pinker is very fun to "listen" to. He lays out the evidence for a hard-wired ability for languages built into the structure of human brains (physically residing in the perisylvian region where Wernicke's and Broca's areas are), and livens things up with interesting examples from the scientific literature (kids are grammar geniuses) and fun quotes from sources from newspapers to Shakespeare. I appreciated his spirited defense of the idea of innate abilities and dismissal of complete relativism, too--the idea that humans can all have built-in abilities AND variation doesn't automatically give eugenics nuts or whatever-supremacists grounds to say that any particular group is inferior or superior, and not everything is negotiable."
"The Language Instinct is a book addressing the subject of language, how we learn it, how it develops, and how the basic concepts of grammar are innate to the human brain.
The book addresses many interesting topics, but the style in which it is delivered did not always appeal to me. At some points, I felt it was going into too much unnecessary details, and at others, I felt that the point the author was trying to make was not sufficiently addressed or proven.
I still learned some interesting facts about languages from this book."
"A subject which fascinates me. A fun, quick read. Alas, since I studied linguistics and speech pathology in college, little of this was new information. I found myself repeatedly wishing the book would delve more deeply into certain subjects. I'd be interested in books that would do this that don't have a dry, textbook feel.
(Erm, this book does not have a dry, textbook feel. Not at all. In other words, I'd like to read more books like this one that delve more deeply into specialized linguistic subjects.)"
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