Linguistics
Last updated: December 01, 2023
We have a range of interviews covering books on linguistics. Daniel L Everett, Dean of Arts and Sciences at Bentley University chooses his best books on language and thought. He argues that all language has a basis in culture, and explains how Chomsky is like Freud: crucial, but crucially wrong. Among his choices are Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Edward Sapir, Language in Relation to a Unified Theory of the Structure of Human Behaviour by Kenneth Pike and Making it Explicit: Reasoning, Representing & Discursive Commitment by Robert Brandom.
Lane Greene, columnist on language and linguistics for the Economist, chooses his best books on language and the mind. He discusses the extent to which languages do and do not affect the way people actually think about things. He chooses, among others, Through the Language Glass by Guy Deutscher, The Language Instinct by Stephen Pinker and The Genius of Language, edited by Wendy Lessen.
The author Henry Hitchings, who specialises in language and cultural history thinks the globalisation of English is not a matter of concern for lovers of the language. He chooses Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler, Mother Tongues by Helena Drysdale, The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature by Stephen Pinker, History in English Words by Owen Barfield and A Mouthful of Air by Anthony Burgess.
The best books on Linguistics, recommended by David Adger
Which linguistics books give a good sense of what the field is about? David Adger, Professor of Linguistics at Queen Mary University of London and the current president of the Linguistics Association of Great Britain, recommends some of his own favourite books on the science of language, including a sci-fi novel.
The best books on The Philosophy of Language, recommended by Scott Soames
When you study the philosophy of language, you study the languages of logic, mathematics, and science, and not just English, French, and German. Philosopher Scott Soames picks the best books on the philosophy of language.
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1
Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech
by Edward Sapir -
2
Language In Relation To A Unified Theory Of The Structure Of Human Behaviour
by Kenneth Pike -
3
Aspects of the Theory of Syntax
by Noam Chomsky -
4
On Understanding Grammar
by Talmy Givón -
5
Making It Explicit: Reasoning, Representing & Discursive Commitment
by Robert Brandom
The best books on Language and Thought, recommended by Daniel L. Everett
The best books on Language and Thought, recommended by Daniel L. Everett
The linguist argues that all language has a basis in culture and explains how Chomsky is like Freud: crucial, but crucially wrong. He chooses five of the best books on linguistics.
The best books on Language and the Mind, recommended by Lane Greene
Does the world look different in other languages? Are there words that cannot be translated? Is it OK to say disinterested when you mean uninterested? Lane Greene, who writes the Economist’s “Johnson” column on language, dispels some of the popular but misguided ideas many of us have about language.
The best books on Language, recommended by Henry Hitchings
The wordsmith and cultural historian debunks common myths about English, recommends the smartest writing about words, and says apostrophes are “orthographic squiggles” not worth fighting for.
