History of Language
eBook - ePub

History of Language

  1. English
  2. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

History of Language

About this book

It is tempting to take the tremendous rate of contemporary linguistic change for granted. What is required, in fact, is a radical reinterpretation of what language is. Steven Roger Fischer begins his book with an examination of the modes of communication used by dolphins, birds and primates as the first contexts in which the concept of "language" might be applied. As he charts the history of language from the times of Homo erectus, Neanderthal humans and Homo sapiens through to the nineteenth century, when the science of linguistics was developed, Fischer analyses the emergence of language as a science and its development as a written form. He considers the rise of pidgin, creole, jargon and slang, as well as the effects radio and television, propaganda, advertising and the media are having on language today. Looking to the future, he shows how electronic media will continue to reshape and re-invent the ways in which we communicate. "[a] delightful and unexpectedly accessible book... a virtuoso tour of the linguistic world."— The Economist "... few who read this remarkable study will regard language in quite the same way again."— The Good Book Guide

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Yes, you can access History of Language by Steven Roger Fischer in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Languages & Linguistics & Linguistics. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Preface
  6. 1 - Animal Communication and ‘Language’
  7. 2 - Talking Apes
  8. 3 - First Families
  9. 4 - Written Language
  10. 5 - Lineages
  11. 6 - Towards a Science of Language
  12. 7 - Society and Language
  13. 8 - Future Indicative
  14. References
  15. Select Bibliography
  16. Index