It took me a long while to warm up to the book. I had hoped for a very engaging reading - talking about languages is always fun; instead the narrative is scholastic, thorough, systematic but dull. The author has a commanding voice, serious and matter-of-factly, but lacks sparks as a writer. He does throw in jokes here and there; but those are obviously the most common ones he or others have been using all the time in the classroom.
Slowly, however, he is able to demonstrate, convincingly, that languages are very much like species evolved through time: the preserved basic motif (the universal language, the instinct), random changes in any and every other way, the fixation, and ever more changes going forward, Although this was not the first time I heard of this, the book provided all the necessary details to truly understand the concept. to paraphrase him: "to aliens, all earthlings speak just one language."
Dr. Pinker also killed my long-holding belief that "language is thinking".
Slowly, however, he is able to demonstrate, convincingly, that languages are very much like species evolved through time: the preserved basic motif (the universal language, the instinct), random changes in any and every other way, the fixation, and ever more changes going forward, Although this was not the first time I heard of this, the book provided all the necessary details to truly understand the concept. to paraphrase him: "to aliens, all earthlings speak just one language."
Dr. Pinker also killed my long-holding belief that "language is thinking".
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