Language is central to our lives, the cultural tool that arguably sets us apart from other species. Some scientists have argued that language is innate, a type of unique human 'instinct' pre-programmed in us from birth. In this book, Vyvyan Evans argues that this received wisdom is, in fact, a myth. Debunking the notion of a language 'instinct', Evans demonstrates that language...(展开全部)

Vyvyan Evans is a member of faculty in the Department of Linguistics and English Language, and the Centre for Research in Cognitive Science, at the University of Sussex. Melanie Green is a member of faculty in the Department of Linguistics and English Language at the University of Sussex.

在线阅读本书 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: language is a huma...(展开全部)

史蒂芬·平克（Steven Pinker） 出生于加拿大蒙特利尔，1976年取得麦吉尔大学心理学学士学位，1979年取得哈佛大学实验心理学博士学位。 1982年—2003年，在麻省理工学院脑与认知科学系任教，并专心研究儿童的语言学习模式，并最终成为麻省理工学院认知神经学中心的掌门人。1994年，他的《语言本能》一经出版，就成为轰动一时的畅销书，并入选《美国科学家》（American Scientist）评出的20世纪100本最佳科学书籍。 2003年，被聘为哈佛大学心理学教授。2008年—2013年，被授予哈佛学院荣誉教授头衔。 2004年，当选《时代》杂志全球100位最有影响力人物。2010年—2011年，两度被《外交政策》杂志评为全球顶尖思想家。在2013年《前景》杂志“最伟大思想家”的评选中，平克名列第3。

Dazzling...Pinker's big idea is that language is an instinct...as innate to us as flying is to geese...Words can hardly do justice to the superlative range and liveliness of Pinker's investigations' - "Independent". 'A marvelously readable book...illuminates every facet of human language: its biological origin, its uniqueness to humanity, its acquisition by children, its gramma...(展开全部)

Japanese has a term that covers both green and blue. Russian has separate terms for dark and light blue. Does this mean that Russians perceive these colors differently from Japanese people? Does language control and limit the way we think? This short, opinionated book addresses the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which argues that the language we speak shapes the way we perceive the wo...(展开全部)

Sarah G. Thomason is Professor of Linguistics at University of Michigan.

Surveying situations in which language contact arises, Sarah G. Thomason focuses on what happens to the languages themselves: sometimes nothing, sometimes the incorporation of new words, sometimes the spread of new sounds and sentence structures across many languages and wide swathes of territory. She outlines the origins and results of contact-induced language change, extreme ...(展开全部)

Whether you are studying education, languages, cognitive science, psychology, anthropology, English, or teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), AN INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE, 11th Edition, offers the information you need in a clear and descriptive manner that assumes no prior knowledge of linguistics. This edition retains the blend of humor and broad coverage that have made...(展开全部)

AN INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE is ideal for use at all levels and in many different areas of instruction, including education, languages, psychology, anthropology, English, teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), and linguistics. All chapters in this best-seller have been revised to reflect recent discoveries and new understanding of linguistics and languages.