The unfolding of language : an evolutionary tour of mankind's greatest invention
"'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"--Page 4 of cover
Print Book, English, 2006
1st Owl books ed View all formats and editions
Henry Holt and Co., New York, 2006
[4] pages of plates, 358 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
9780805080124, 9780805079074, 0805080120, 0805079076
70590371
A castle in the air
Perpetual motion
The forces of destruction
A reef of dead metaphors
The forces of creation
Craving for order
The unfolding of language
"An Owl Book."
Originally published as hbk.: New York : Metropolitan Books, 2005