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Nature & Science

The Language Instinct

Nature & Science

The Language Instinct

Nature & Science

The Language Instinct

Steven Pinker

All humans have language instincts from birth. It is probably one of the factors responsible for our ongoing survival as a species that we have such a talent for language that goes far beyond the grammar we learn in school.

cognitive-science

linguistics

21 min

10 Bite

Aperçu

De quoi s'agit-il ?

“The Language Instinct” (1994) presents a detailed analysis of the intricacies and origins of language, along with accelerated teaching in linguistics and linguistic anthropology. It proposes that innate propensities for learning a language are actually embedded in our brains and does so by examining our proficiency.

Résumé du livre

Steven Pinker is a prominent Canadian-American cognitive psychologist, linguist, and popular science author known for his work in the fields of psychology, linguistics, and the exploration of human cognition. He is a prolific writer and speaker who has made significant contributions to our understanding of language, human nature, and the process of thought.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to compute it.”

“It's natural to think that living things must be the handiwork of a designer. But it was also natural to think that the sun went around the earth. Overcoming naive impressions to figure out how things really work is one of humanity's highest callings."

"As we care about more of humanity, we’re apt to mistake the harms around us for signs of how low the world has sunk rather than how high our standards have risen.”

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Toutes les bouchées

10 Bites

Language instinct is innate in all of us.

Contrary to popular belief, words don’t actually affect our perception.

The language system is based on two principles.

Despite all the attention that grammar receives, words are equally interesting.

Speech comprehension acts as our sixth sense.

Since we are extremely proficient “parsers”, we understand written language.

Childhood is a crucial period for the development of our innate language abilities.

Evolution may be the source of our language instinct.

Relax about good grammar because it’s trickier than you think.

By understanding that language is a basic instinct, we can gain a deeper understanding of how our brain works.

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