Words and Rules - by Steven Pinker (Paperback)

About the Book

How does language work? How do we learn to speak? Why do languages change? Why do they have so many quirks? What does language reveal about the mind? Steven Pinker explores the mysteries of language in this original and hugely entertaining book. Pinker uses a deceptively simple phenomenon--regular and irregular verbs--to illuminate an astonishing array of topics: the history of languages, what we can learn from children's grammatical mistakes, the genetic and neurobiological underpinnings of language, and some of the major themes in Western philosophy. The key idea--that language comprises a mental dictionary of memorized words and a mental grammar of creative rules--extends beyond language, offering insight into the nature of thinking.

Book Synopsis

An "excellent work of popular science" (New Republic) by a New York Times-bestselling author that unites history and science to reveal how the mind does language

In Words and Rules, Steven Pinker explores profound mysteries of language by picking a deceptively simple phenomenon -- regular and irregular verbs -- and examining it from every angle. With humor and verve, he covers an astonishing array of topics in the sciences and humanities, from the history of languages to how to simulate languages on computers to major ideas in the history of Western philosophy.

Through it all, Pinker presents a single, powerful idea: that language comprises a mental dictionary of memorized words and a mental grammar of creative rules. The idea extends beyond language and offers insight into the very nature of the human mind.

This is a sparkling, eye-opening, and utterly original book by one of the world's leading cognitive scientists.

Review Quotes

"[An] excellent work of popular science."--Thomas Nagel, New Republic

"MIT linguist Pinker builds on his previous successes (How the Mind Works; The Language Instinct) with another book explaining how we learn and deploy word, phrase and utterance... The result, with its crisp prose and neat analogies, makes required reading for anyone interested in cognition and language."--Publishers Weekly

"the book provides a scholarly, persuasive, enjoyable, and eminently readable account of important language phenomena."--Nature

"A fascinating voyage of discovery."--Sunday Telegraph

"An intellectual joyride."--Globe and Mail

"Compelling and revelatory."--Guardian

"Not only does Pinker breathe life into the topic, he makes the reading breathtakingly exciting."--Montreal Gazette

About the Author

Steven Pinker, a native of Montreal, studied experimental psychology at McGill University and Harvard University. He is a Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. Pinker conducts research on languages and cognition, writes for publications such as the New York Times, Time, and the New Republic, and is the author of several books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Stuff of Thought, and most recently When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows...