The Language Game

Name: The Language Game
Brand: Penguin Random House NZ
SKU: 9781804991008
Price: 32.0 NZD
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How improvisation created language and changed the world

By Morten H. Christiansen and Nick Chater

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Summary

The Language Game by Morten H. Christiansen and Nick Chater explores the dynamic nature of language and how it's constantly shaped by social interactions. The authors argue that language isn't a rigid system but a flexible and evolving tool, influenced by creativity and human adaptability. This thought-provoking study examines language through a mix of cognitive science and linguistics to understand its formation and transformation in our lives.
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Format: Paperback / softback

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're intrigued by the dynamic nature of language and how it evolves through use. It explores how human communication is a rich and improvisational game, shedding light on the adaptability and creativity inherent in how we express ourselves. Perfect for those curious about the science behind our ability to mould language in real time.

The Language Game

Description

What is language? Why do we have it? Where does it come from? Why does that matter? The Language Game draws on a fascinating range of examples to show the way language works, has shaped our evolution, and is critical to our future.

"Marvellously clear... playfully persuasive" — Richard Dawkins
"Full of fascinating details. A delight to read." — Tim Harford
"Highly original and convincing ... a delight to read!" — Daniel Everett

What is language? Why do we have it? Why does that matter?

Language is perhaps humanity's most astonishing accomplishment and one that remains poorly understood.

Upending centuries of scholarship (including, most recently, Chomsky and Pinker), The Language Game shows how people learn to talk not by acquiring fixed meanings and rules, but by picking up, reusing, and recombining countless linguistic fragments in novel ways.

Drawing on entertaining and persuasive examples from across the world, the book explains:

How our short-lived memory copes with the on-rushing deluge of sound that is everyday speech.
Why it is that language is such a challenge for language scientists but learnt effortlessly by toddlers.
Why the languages of the world are so spectacularly varied—and why no two people speak quite the same language.
Why humans have language, but chimps don't.
How language gave us a big brain and changed the course of evolution.
How language doesn't limit, but does shape, how we think.
And ultimately, why all we know about language should give us hope.

Christiansen and Chater's The Language Game draws on a fascinating range of examples to show the way language works, has shaped our evolution, and is critical to our future.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781804991008

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 May 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin (Transworld)

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 22.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 255g

Pages: 368

Collections

Education & Reference Morten H. Christiansen Nick Chater Non-Fiction Penguin Books Science & Nature

About the Author

Morten H. Christiansen (Author) Morten H. Christiansen is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Psychology at Cornell University, Professor in Cognitive Science of Language at the School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, Denmark, and Senior Scientist at the Haskins Labs. He was awarded the Cognitive Psychology Section Award from the British Psychological Society in 2013 and a Charles A. Ryskamp Research Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies in 2006. He was elected Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science in 2009, made Fellow of the Psychonomic Society in 2013, elected Fellow of the Cognitive Science Society in 2017 and elected as a foreign member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in 2021 and a foreign member of the Royal Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters in 2022. He lives with his family in New York. Nick Chater (Author) Nick Chater is Professor of Behavioural Science at Warwick Business School. He has won four national awards for psychological research, and has served as Associate Editor for the journals Cognitive Science, Psychological Review, and Psychological Science. He was elected Fellow of the Cognitive Science Society in 2010, Fellow of the British Academy in 2012, and Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science in 2014. Nick advises the UK Government, and co-founded Decision Technology, a consultancy applying psychology to business. Nick was resident scientist and co-creator of Radio 4's, The Human Zoo. He is recipient of the 2023 Rumelhart Prize from the Cognitive Science Society. He lives in Oxford