Just Published: The Language Myth

[Vyv Evans]

The Language Myth:

Why Language is Not an Instinct



By Vyvyan Evans

Published by Cambridge University Press



Sample chapter available on author’s website: http://www.vyvevans.net



Description:

Language is central to our lives, the cultural tool that arguably sets us apart from other species.  Some scientists have argued that language is innate, a type of unique human ‘instinct’ pre-programmed in us from birth. In this book, Vyvyan Evans argues that this received wisdom is, in fact, a myth.
            Debunking the notion of a language 'instinct', Evans demonstrates that language is related to other animal forms of communication; that languages exhibit staggering diversity; that we learn our mother tongue drawing on general properties and abilities of the human mind, rather than an inborn ‘universal’ grammar; that language is not autonomous but is closely related to other aspects of our mental lives; and that, ultimately, language and the mind reflect and draw upon the way we interact with others in the world.
            Compellingly written and drawing on cutting-edge research, The Language Myth sets out a forceful alternative to the received wisdom, showing how language and the mind really work.



Endorsements:

‘A much-needed, comprehensive critique of universal grammar. Vyvyan Evans builds a compelling case that will be difficult to refute.’
David Crystal, author of The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language, 3rd Edition.



‘Evans’ rebuttal of Chomsky’s Universal Grammar from the perspective of Cognitive Linguistics provides an excellent antidote to popular textbooks where it is assumed that the Chomskyan approach to linguistic theory (in one avatar or another) has somehow been vindicated once and for all.’
Michael Fortescue, Professor Emeritus, University of Copenhagen



‘The Language Myth builds a compelling case that there is no innate Universal Grammar. Evans's work is a welcome contribution to our understanding of the origin, nature, and use of human language.’
Daniel L. Everett, Dean of Arts and Sciences, Bentley University



Table of Contents:

1.  Language and mind rethought

                Taking stock of language
                Myths and realities
                A straw man?
                Lessons from evolution



2. Is human language unrelated to animal communication systems?
                From busy bees to startling starlings
                Communication in the wild
                Talking animals
                Design features for language
                But wherefore “design features”?
                All in the mind of the beholder
                Of chimps and men



3. Are there language universals?
                Linguistic diversity: A whistle-stop tour
                Universal Grammar meets (linguistic) reality
                Lessons from linguistic typology
                So, how and why does language change?
                The myth of proto-world
                Adieu, Universal Grammar



4 . Is language innate?
                An instinct for language?
                Arguments for the language instinct
                Lessons from neurobiology
                Lessons from language learning
                So how do children learn language?
                Towards a theory of language learning
                Learning what to say…from what isn’t said
                But couldn’t language emerge all at once?
                It’s all about language use!



5 . Is language a distinct module in the mind?
                On grammar genes and chatterboxes
                The chatterbox fallacy
                Alas, poor Darwin
                So, what’s the alternative to modularity?
                What’s all the fuss anyway?



6. Is there a universal Mentalese?
                Mentalese and the computational mind
                Wherefore meaning?
                Fodor’s retort
                Intelligent bodies, embodied minds
                Metaphors we live by
                Embodiment effects in the brain
                So, where does this leave us?



7. Is thought independent of language?
                Who’s afraid of the big bad Whorf?
                The rise of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
                Born to colour the world?
                The neo-Whorfian critique
                Lessons from Rossel Island
                Colour through the eyes of a child
                Pinker’s broadside
                Greek blues
                All about sex
                On time and space
                What is linguistic relativity anyway?



8. Language and mind regained
                Cultural intelligence and the ratchet effect
                The human interaction engine
                The rise of language
                What does our mental grammar look like?
                Universal scenes of experience
                Why are there so many languages?
                One final reflection…


Professor/Yr Athro Vyv Evans
Professor of/Yr Athro Linguistics/Ieithyddiaeth
www.vyvevans.net<http://www.vyvevans.net/>
Prifysgol Bangor University

General Editor of Language & Cognition
A Cambridge University Press Journal
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=LCO

The UK Cognitive Linguistics Association
http://www.uk-cla.org.uk<http://www.uk-cla.org.uk/>





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