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Author Deutscher, Guy, Dr.

Title The unfolding of language : an evolutionary tour of mankind's greatest invention / Guy Deutscher.

Imprint New York : Metropolitan Books, 2005.

Copies

Location Call No. OPAC Message Status
 Axe 3rd Floor Stacks  401 D489u 2005    ---  Available
Edition 1st ed.
Description 358 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (p. 329-340) and index.
Summary "Language is mankind's greatest invention--except, of course, that it was never invented." So begins linguist Deutscher's investigation into the genesis and evolution of language. If we started off with rudimentary utterances on the level of "man throw spear," how did we end up with sophisticated grammars, enormous vocabularies, and intricately nuanced degrees of meaning? Drawing on recent discoveries in linguistics, Deutscher exposes the elusive forces of creation at work in human communication, giving us fresh insight into how language emerges, evolves, and decays. He traces the evolution of linguistic complexity from an early "Me Tarzan" stage to such elaborate single-word constructions as the Turkish sehirlilestiremediklerimizdensiniz ("you are one of those whom we couldn't turn into a town dweller"). He shows how the processes of destruction and creation are continuously in operation, generating new words, new structures, and new meanings.--From publisher description.
Subject Language and languages -- Origin.
Language and languages -- Philosophy.
Linguistic change.
Semantics, Comparative.
Metaphor.
Order (Grammar)
ISBN 0805079076
9780805079074
Standard No. NLGGC 272165271
YDXCP 2184007
NZ1 9039511
AU@ 000026473425

 
    
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