Genealogy Books - The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language (P.S.)

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Summary: Utterly fascinating
Comment: When I was a freshman in college I used my roommate's computer all the time. She frequently had this
book open on her desk as part of her study of HumBio (Human Biology). At some point I picked it up
to take a look...and I didn't put it down until I was finished. An outstanding, utterly readable and
deeply compelling look at the structures of the brain, the mind they inform and the human culture
they produce. Highly recommended for all humans.

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Summary: The Language Instinct
Comment: This book exploded for me. As a student in the 1970s, I had been taught that language determined
thought (no word, no concept, right?) and this book reverses that completely. When Pinker notes, in
the chapter called "The Tower of Babel," that a Martian would observe that human beings speak a
single language, albeit one composed of 6,000 dialects, it lands with a "crash." This has been a
tough book to put down -- it demands to be read and savored. The middle portions about grammar make
me regret having napped through my English classes in (ironically) Grammar School when we diagrammed
sentences and learned about S(ubject)V(erb)Object. It's never too late!

Customer Rating:

Summary: Bringing Science Home
Comment: Human language, from BEV to ASL and everything in between, is a genetically endowed by-product of
human evolution, that even though it may set us apart from every other organism, it is no more
unique to humans than a trunk is to an elephant or wings is to a bird. This is an essential point
that Pinker makes, one that throws SSSM and other standard-setting scientists out the window, making
way for the public to grasp a general understanding of the science of language.

Pinker
makes language, and everything it emcompasses, accessible to the general public; with catchy chapter
titles to hilarious examples and rips on "language mavens", this text is the utmost route to
linguistics. Honestly, what more can up expect from a master of language? Regardless of that fast,
what better way to understand Mentalese than with clear-cut examples and scientific backing? How
would one scuff through morphology, phonetics, syntax, and the theory of Universal Grammer without
being able to make a connection with examples from bunk-media clippings and hasty scientifically
backed theories? Some may critique his wordy and lengthy style, but he/she must consider his
audience. What is easier clearly expressed ideas and examples in plane ole' English or
Chomsky-short-hand (p.96)?

Its Linguistics 101 with a twist. Not many people want to
read dry text unless he/she has to. Pinker lightly peruses the tip of the iceberg, with explanations
on Pidgin, Creole, the meaning of Standardized testing, Baby Geniuses, and theories on the origin of
language, as well as fine points made by other linguistics that Pinker may not agree with, he
satisfies the criteris for an introduction to language syllabus.

Language Instinct
shines a bright light on a topic that is more important now and in the future than ever before,
especially during a time of extreme globalization, language is the key to understanding many aspects
of communication and Pinker targets a huge audience. Above all I would consider Pinker a credible
and reliable source of information. And this is important, especially in this day and age, where
anyone can write-off anything as fact.

However, I must say that Pinker clearly
expresses the downfall of being so well-informed. It is important to draw a mental picture for one
that is not so familiar with the concepts found in this book. But the fact of the matter is that tt
is easy to get carried away in the nitty-gritty boroque examples that carry on for pages. />
Last, perhaps Pinkers main set-back would be his theory on the language gene.
/>Overall, Pinker has a good grasp on his knowledge and writing style. He brings science down a
notch so that the understanding of language can become accessible to those that it matters to most,
everyone! This is a great introduction to Chomskian Theory. As a general advocate or good
communication, Pinkers efforts to eduacte the public on language as a tool for understanding the
owrld, mind, and culture should not go without notice.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The Best
Comment: This is by far the best lay account of an ongoing scientific breakthrough: The discovery of the
biological underpinnings of language. Steven Pinker writes like a dream, and his wry and lucid
descriptions are within the grasp of anyone curious about the phenomenon of language.
/>The clarity is a breath of fresh air to anyone who's tried (like me) to get through Noam Chomsky's
books on language.

Speaking of which, some reviewers apparently believe Pinker is a
Chomsky disciple, and they spend their reviews attacking Chomsky's Universal Grammar, rather than
this book. Although Pinker acknowledges the deep debt that linguistics owes to Chomsky's ideas, he
is clearly skeptical about Universal Grammar, and I think he discusses it for the sake of
completeness, and because to do otherwise would seem disrespectful. Actually, most linguists aren't
orthodox Chomskyites, because the rules of Universal Grammar get more complex, and murkier, as each
new exception is discovered.

Likewise, some reviewers try to shoehorn Pinker into the
"Nativist" category, as in the great debate of Nature vs. Nurture. While Pinker is clearly a
Nativist at the fundamental level, so is everyone else: You can't teach a cow to speak French. But
at the human level, he acknowledges the role played by both nature and nurture. He spends more time
with nature because that's where the new stuff is happening.

I heartily recommend this
book to anyone who interested in how, and why, we talk.

Customer Rating:

Summary: An instinct to acquire an art
Comment: Confounded by the mystery of language, Charles Darwin said that our proclivities to language were an
instinct to acquire an art.

As always, Darwin's prescience contibutes mightily to
briefly understanding that which is significant concerning an evolutionary field.
/>Though admittedly Pinker does not have the brief eloquence that characterizes Darwin, his book is
nonetheless a serviceable contribution in helping one to understand how humans are programmed to
acquire language, the problems that can interfere with that act of acquisition, some of the dynamics
of language systems and how they vary and how language works metaphorically consistent with it's use
of a brain structure originally designed to cognate about physical structure and orientation. />
Fleshing out some of these areas, Pinker discusses how children are born with a proclivity
to acquire language. In this way, children can by just hearing language assemble a sense of
complicated structure from merely hearing examples of occassional usage. It's kind of like seeing a
few minutes of a movie and being able to extrapolate of whole plot. As pointed out by Pinker, it's
amazing.

Pinker also discusses impairments of the brain and vocal systems which can
affect language acquisition. This is interesting like all brain-mind discussions are interesting
for the dramatic effects on behavior that even slight effects on brain architecture can have. />
Reading this book one also learns that all language systems use sentences intended to
communicate a thing (subject) doing something (verb) to another thing (object). Interestingly
enough, Pinker shows that while SOV and SVO sentences are common, OSV are arguably non existent.
Why human cognition should ordain such a state of affairs still remains uncertain.
/>However, human cognitive systems are shown to be highly metaphorical in nature. In other words,
when we understand someone we can be said to follow them, accompany them or see eye to eye with
them. Likewise, a disagreement can be characterized as not following or not seeing eye to eye with
someone. In this area, Pinker merely touches on the very excellent Lackoff and Johnson book
"Metaphors we live by" which at length discusses the various ways in which metaphor pervades speech.
This is significant because it supports the conclusion that originally language centers served to
help in navigating spacial relationships. This contibutes mightily to the experience of irrelevance
that accompanies pure philosophical discussion and insurance sales pitches.

As has been
pointed out by other reviewers, Pinker can be repetitive and pedantic. However, he does do a
serviceable job of explaining what is a fascinating area of human behavior. Even if you read
others, read this one as well.

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