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Summary: Don't agree with the Generativism
Review: Generative linguistics began to become popular a little less than forty years before this book's publication. The author is yet another convert. He attempts to give Generativism a warm reception among the general public, where perspective has been dominated by -- perhaps among others -- prescriptive grammarians such as Safire and popularizing authors such as Bryson who do not always give accurate information. I found informative (though its tone may have been harsh) the portion of the book in which Pinker discusses these types of writers, at some point in the chapter on "Language Mavens". I am not sure I can say the same of the other ~400 pages, though.
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Summary: Wealth of Information & Fun at the Same Time
Review: There is a wealth of useful information in this book, and it's one of the rare ones that is an easy fun read because of Pinker's writing style, approach, and real-life examples. It's not esoteric at all. Many of the concepts in this book and it's examples can be passed on to students, who occassionally ask questions in particular about English and in general about second language acquisition. One doesn't have to have an interest in language to enjoy this book. The bibliography and references to past and present researchers from a variety of disciplines are presented, from Boas to Chomsky, to biological, physiological and psychological studies. Give it a whirl.
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Summary: This book is great.
Review: At the time I was reading this book it felt like a great friend came over to stay for a while. It is fun, interesting, even just. Professor Steven Pinker brings up interesting questions, provides convincing examples for why should we care, and gives excellent answers. Did I buy everything he suggests? No, though surprisingly a good part of it. But a book on scientific matters is not expected to provide the final and only word. And yes, some parts of this book can be demanding. You may choose to just scan them and hope you've got the basic idea right. The bottom line: those who are interested with language and the possibility of effective communication between people are likely to be enriched tremendously by this book, and enjoy while at it as well.
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Summary: Awesome
Review: Considering I am a junior in high school, I probably do not resemble most of the people who have read this book. I am, however, very interested in foreign languages. I set out to learn something about linguistics, but because I have no background in the area, every book I picked up was incomprehensible to me. I stumbled across "The Language Instinct" a couple of weeks ago and I have yet to put it down. Pinker explains concepts without assuming any previous knowledge, yet he does it without over-simplifying anything. He also manages to make it humorous- I actually laughed out loud a couple of times. I told my French teacher about it, and now she's bugging me to finish it so she can borrow it. I don't know how a linguist would react to the book, but I highly recommend it to anyone interested in linguistics, including those with no formal study on the subject.
Rating:
Summary: Clarifying
Review: The blurbs are accurate. No worries. Go ahead. Just one thing: linguistics itself less racy methinks.
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Summary: "Mentalese" does not a perspective make!
Review: How'd you like that grammar, Mr. Pinker? Perhaps you'd like to analyze it for me. If you did, I still don't think you'd understand what I meant. That's the problem - the brain doesn't create language, it processes language. You don't understand the sun by studying the things it shines its light on.
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Summary: Excellent but wrong
Review: I'm no linguist myself, but Pinker's logical analysis is so weak that an alert reader's conclusion inevitably is: he must be wrong. A common strategy to be convincing is to list all possible theories and to eliminate all but one with supporting facts. Pinker comes up with one single theory, that grammar is genetically determined, and he then lists loads of facts, that happen to be consistent with that theory. However, alternative explanations are hardly discussed, and none is convincingly refuted. At the same time, there are problems with genetically determined grammar, that he doesn't bother to talk about.If there had been good arguments for a genetically determined grammar, I'm sure Pinker would have mentioned them, so I consider this book a very good indication that the theory is a wild guess at best. Still, Pinker is an excellent stylist, and his collection of facts is extremely interesting taken individually. For these reasons alone the book is well worth reading.
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Summary: We possess language and it possesses us!!
Review: A good friend with whom I was discussing language urged me to read this book. I must say that I was captivated from the first sentence. Other reviewers have mentioned that this is not a book for everyone and I agree - much of the science and terminology of the linguists is beyond me - and I consider myself fairly well educated. When Pinker steers clear from mucking up the story with in-depth explanations of word placements and whatnot - it is a brilliant treatise on this marvelous "instinct" - the ability of human beings to learn and use language.
Pinker sets out to view language as a characteristic (like the elephant's trunk) that simply happens to be unique to this species (which is why the "sign language using" apes in our society are little more than farces). I think I loved most of all the convincing examples he uses to support his argument. Whether it was about the deaf children of hearing parents who learn a fluent sign language, or the aphasics, or disproving the Eskimo 'hoax' (they don't have 100s of words for snow), or the simple support of a language "gene" - and a description of what he calls, "mentalese" - I was hooked. Although I suspect that this book was meant to be used as a college textbook - the fact remains that if you are interested in language and the human abilities to learn it, manipulate it, process it, and communicate with it - then this is a wonderful book.
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Summary: The Landcape of Language and Mind - Explored with Wonder
Review: Language is thought to be the one characteristic that separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom, the one skill that humans have and other animals just don't. Pinker, one of the acknowledged greats in the 30-year-young field of linguistics, explores the ability of humans to think and to communicate in language from a variety of angles and with reference to many different fields of study. Topics covered include: - the structure/grammar of language and for comparative languages - the 'correctness' of standard American English and self-designated "language mavens". - structures and regions of the brain which seem to control our ability to speak - observations on the relationship between age and learning language - evolutionary theory and how come only humans can talk? - universal characteristics of all human cultures and all human grammars - animals who have been trained to "talk" Pinker may or may not be 100% right, but his thinking is clear-headed and his view of humanity is refreshing, in that it is both broad enough to cover every speaking (human) culture, and specific enough to rely on individually observed and experimental evidence in describing the ways we learn.
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Summary: Some good kernels in an awful lot of chaff
Review: This book has some good things to think about. The problem is Pinker has presented some very debatable opinions as absolute proven fact. So, to find the good stuff, you've got to sort through a lot of not-so-good. This was the first thing of Pinker's I've read, and to be honest, I was surprised to find that a man with such a high reputation could be so bombastic in stating his pet theories. I was really underimpressed.
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