The Language Imperative: How Learning Languages Can Enrich Your Life And Expand Your Mind - Hardcover

Elgin, Suzette Haden

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0738202541 ISBN 13: 9780738202549

Publisher: Basic Books, 2000

Synopsis

Many of us view language as a tool, a means by which to communicate our thoughts and emotions. But is there more to language than just “talk”? Can learning languages actually change the way you think? In The Language Imperative , best-selling author and linguistic scholar Suzette Haden Elgin makes a persuasive case that the linguistic differences between us are not trivial, that language and culture are inextricably linked, and that multilingualism has a profound (and beneficial) effect on the human mind. Drawing on examples from the worlds of medicine, business, religion, and family life, Elgin illustrates that each language learned gains for the speaker another worldview—perhaps even another personality. This makes it all the more disturbing that many of the world's languages are rapidly disappearing, and that the “English Only” movement is gaining ground. Based on solid science and filled with personal insights, The Language Imperative is required reading for anyone interested in how words shape our lives, both as individuals and as a nation.

About this title

About the Author

Suzette Haden Elgin, Ph.D., a specialist in applied psycholinguistics, is the author of the best-selling Gentle Art of Verbal Defense series, which now includes ten books and four audio programs. Her other books include How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable, You Can't Say That to Me!, and The Gentle Art of Verbal Defense, which has sold nearly 1.2 million copies. She is the founder and director of the Ozark Center for Language Studies.

Edition details

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0738202541
• ISBN 13: 9780738202549
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304