History of Language

by Steven Roger Fischer

Overview

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781861895943
Publisher:	Reaktion Books, Limited
Publication date:	10/03/2004
Series:	Globalities
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Steven Roger Fischer is former director of the Institute of Polynesian Languages and Literatures in Auckland, New Zealand. His books include A History of Language, A History of Writing, and A History of Reading, and Island at the End of the World: The Turbulent History of Easter Island,also published by Reaktion Books. He lives on Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

Table of Contents

	Preface	7
1	Animal Communication and 'Language'	11
2	Taling Apes	35
3	First Families	60
4	Written Language	86
5	Lineages	112
6	Towards a Science of Language	139
7	Society and Language	172
8	Future Indicative	204
	References	221
	Select Bibliography	232
	Index	236

Editorial Reviews

[A] delightful and unexpectedly accessible book. . . . A virtuoso tour of the linguistic world.

on the first edition Economist

Few who read this remarkable study will regard language in quite the same way again.

on the first edition Good Book Guide

Fischer’s intriguing and ambitious study explores a vast terrain, parts of which have scarcely been charted, others examined in some depth over many years and, as he relates, many centuries. Throughout, he addresses hard questions that bear directly on fundamental and distinctive aspects of human nature and achievement. A stimulating and highly informative inquiry.

Noam Chomsky