6/22/2023 0 Comments The language instinct book![]() ![]() ![]() He deals sympathetically with Noam Chomsky 's claim that all human language shows evidence of a universal grammar, but dissents from Chomsky's skepticism. Pinker argues that humans are born with an innate capacity for language. Scientists look at descriptive rules which explore how people actually talk. The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language is a 1994 book by Steven Pinker, written for a general audience. Rules are prescriptive rules which mean that they prescribe how someone should talk. ![]() Pinker delves into the difference between "grammatical" and "ungrammatical." There is a contradiction with the fact that "rule," "grammatical" and "ungrammatical" have different definitions for the scientist and the layperson. If we do not respect the language it will continue to decay. Language is degenerating as society embraces the patois of surfers and jocks who believe that one word ("awesome") is a sentence. When it comes to human language, many people think that such things are cause for alarm. Pinker wonders how it is possible for people to say that the humpback whale's song contains errors or that dolphins do not swim properly. Chapter 12: The Language Mavens Summary and Analysis ![]()
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