• See large image

  The Unfolding of Language (Arrow Books) (Paperback) By (author) Guy Deutscher

  

  $15.09 - Save $0.79 (4%) - RRP $15.88 Free delivery worldwide (to United States and
  all these other countries) Usually dispatched within 24 hours Add to basket | Add to wishlist |

  Also available in...

  Hardback $26.51

  Short Description for The Unfolding of LanguagePresents an investigation into the evolution of language. This book exposes the elusive forces of creation at work in human communication. Along the way, it teaches why German maidens are neuter while German turnips are female, why we have feet not foots, and how great changes of pronunciation may result from simple laziness.
  Full description

  • Publisher: ARROW BOOKS LTD
  • Published: 01 June 2006
  • Format: Paperback 368 pages
  • See: Full bibliographic data
  • Categories: Linguistics | Dialect, Slang & Jargon | Society & Social Sciences
  • ISBN 13: 9780099460251 ISBN 10: 0099460254
  • Sales rank: 21,322

• Through the Language Glass

  

  Notify me $12.07 - Save $0.63 (4%) - RRP $12.70

• Through the Language Glass

  

  Notify me $28.59 - Save $3.21 (10%) - RRP $31.80

• On Guerrilla Warfare

  

  Add to basket $6.25 - Save $4.86 43% off - RRP $11.11

• No Ordinary Moments

  

  Add to basket $12.40 - Save $7.48 37% off - RRP $19.88

• The Unbearable Lightness of Bein...

  

  Add to basket $9.06 - Save $2.05 (18%) - RRP $11.11

Full description for The Unfolding of Language

• 'Language is mankind's greatest invention - except of course, that it was never invented.' So begins Guy Deutscher's enthralling investigation into the evolution of language. No one believes that the Roman Senate sat down one day to design the complex system that is Latin grammar, and few believe, these days, in the literal truth of the story of the Tower of Babel. But then how did there come to be so many languages, and of such elaborate design? If we started off with rudimentary utterances on the level of 'man throw spear', how did we end up with sophisticated grammars, enormous vocabularies, and intricately nuanced shades of meaning? Drawing on recent, groundbreaking discoveries in modern linguistics, Deutscher exposes the elusive forces of creation at work in human communication. Along the way, we learn why German maidens are neuter while German turnips are female, why we have feet not foots, and how great changes of pronunciation may result from simple laziness...