Don't Believe a Word: The Surprising Truth about Language

A linguist’s entertaining and highly informed guide to what languages are and how they function.

Think you know language? Think again.

• There are languages that change when your mother-in-law is present.
• The language you speak could make you more prone to accidents.
• Swear words are produced in a special part of your brain.

Over the past few decades, we have reached new frontiers of linguistic knowledge. Linguists can now explain how and why language changes, describe its structures, and m...