Good condition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.

Seller Inventory # X05A-04489

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Words And Rules. The Ingredients Of Language.
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication Date: 1999
Language: English
ISBN 10: 0297816470
ISBN 13: 9780297816478
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

How does language work? How do children learn their mother tongue? Why do languages change over time, making Shakespearean English difficult for us to follow and Chaucer's English almost incomprehensible? Why do languages have so many quirks and irregularities? Are they all fundamentally alike? How are new words created? Where in the brain does language reside?

In Words and Rules, Steven Pinker answers these and many other questions. His new book shares the wit and style of his classic, The Language Instinct, but explores language in a completely different way. In this book, Pinker explains the profound mysteries of language by picking a deceptively simple single phenomenon and examining it from every angle. That phenomenon � the existence of regular and irregular verbs � connects an astonishing array of topics in the sciences and humanities: the history of languages; the attempts to duplicate human language using computer simulations; the illuminating errors of children as they begin to speak; the peculiarities of the English language; the sources of the major themes in the history of Western philosophy; the latest techniques in identifying genes and imaging the living brain.

Pinker makes sense of all of this with the help of a single, powerful idea: that language comprises a mental dictionary of memorized words and a mental grammar of creative rules. It is a distinction that extends beyond language and offers insight into the very nature of the human mind. Words and Rules is a sparkling, eye-opening, and utterly original book by one of the world's leading cognitive scientists.

About the Author

Steven Pinker is Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of the Technology.

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With 3 stores less than 1 hour outside the DC/Metropolitan area (1 in Gaithersburg, 1 in Frederick and 1 in Hagerstown, MD), we have the largest selection of books in the tri-state area. Wonder Book and Video has been in business since 1980 and online since 1997. We have over 1 Million books for sale on our website and another 1 Million books for sale in our 3 locations. Items on Abe are not necessarily in stock at our retail locations. Please do not call the stores to place orders for Abe Books sales. We have a very active online inventory and as such, we can receive multiple orders for the same item. We fill those orders on a first come first serve basis, but will refund promptly any items that are out of stock. Since 1980 it has always been about the books. ALL kinds of books from 95 cent children's paperbacks to five figure rare and collectibles. A merging of the old and new is where we started, and it is where we are today. Our retail stores have always been places where a reader can rush in looking for a title needed for a term paper that is due the next day, or where bibliophiles can get lost "in the stacks" for as long as they wish. In 2002 USAToday recognized us as "1 of 10 Great Old Bookstores", and we have been featured in numerous other newspaper and TV stories including Washington Post and CSpan. Members ABAA, ILAB.

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Wonder Book
Wonder Book and Video, 1550 Tilco Drive, Frederick, MD, 21704, U.S.A.

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