The Unfolding Of Language

'Enthralling' A.S. Byatt 
 
A brilliant and original exploration of how languages evolve and have evolved, comparable to Steven Pinker's The Language Instinct in its accessibility, wit and ambition.

'I was enthralled by Guy Deutscher's The Unfolding of Language, a history of how words came to take the forms they do, and therefore a history of the forms of the human mind.'

A.S. Byatt in the Guardian 'Books of the Year

Fascinating... Any curious reader...will find something worth knowing in The Unfolding of Language'

Born in 1969, Guy Deutscher read Maths at Cambridge before doing his PhD in Linguistics. Formerly a Research Fellow in Historical Linguistics at St John's College, Cambridge, he is now at the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Languages in the University of Leiden. He lives in Amsterdam.

'A persuasive and beautifully written take on how languages are constantly evolving... an enthralling read about human psychology and anthropology as well as linguistics.' ALEX BELLOS 
___________________________________ 
 
'Language is mankind's greatest invention - except of course, that it was never invented'. So begins Guy Deutscher's fascinating investigation into the evolution of language. No one believes that the Roman Senate sat down one day to design the complex system that is Latin grammar, and few believe, these days, in the literal truth of the story of the Tower of Babel. But then how did there come to be so many languages, and of such elaborate design? If we started off with rudimentary utterances on the level of 'man throw spear', how did we end up with sophisticated grammars, enormous vocabularies, and intricately nuanced shades of meaning? 
 
Drawing on recent, groundbreaking discoveries in modern linguistics, Deutscher exposes the elusive forces of creation at work in human communication. Along the way, we learn why German maidens are neuter while German turnips are female, why we have feet not foots, and how great changes in pronunciation may result from simple laziness... 
_____________________ 
 
'Powerful and thrilling' SPECTATOR 
'Really ought to be read by anyone who persists in complaining that the English language is going to the dogs' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 
'I was enthralled' A.S. Byatt, for GUARDIAN 'Books of the Year' 
'Highly original... clever and convincing... this book will stretch your mind' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 
'Fascinating' BOSTON GLOBE

Guy Deutscher

Jaw-droppingly wonderful ... A marvellous and surprising book which left me breathless and dizzy with delight. The ironic, playful tone at the beginning gradates into something serious that is never pompous, intellectually and historically complex and yet always pellucidly laid out. Plus I learned the word plaidoyer which I shall do my utmost to use every day

Fabulously interesting ... a remarkably rich, provocative and intelligent work of pop science

So robustly researched and wonderfully told that it is hard to put down

Alex Bellos, author of Alex's Adventures in Numberland

The book that I've found myself telling other people about most has been Through The Language Glass, Guy Deutscher's gripping pop-science book about linguistics and neuropsychology, describing how language shapes our perception of reality

Playful and provocative ... Guy Deutscher is that rare beast, an academic who talks good sense about linguistics

A sceptical reappraisal of the popular, and often misunderstood, notion that language influences thought

Why The World Looks Different In Other Languages

"Guy Deutscher is that rare beast, an academic who talks good sense about linguistics... he argues in a playful and provocative way, that our mother tongue does indeed affect how we think and, just as important, how we perceive the world." Observer 
 
*Does language reflect the culture of a society? 
*Is our mother-tongue a lens through which we perceive the world? 
*Can different languages lead their speakers to different thoughts? 
 
In Through the Language Glass, acclaimed author Guy Deutscher will convince you that, contrary to the fashionable academic consensus of today, the answer to all these questions is - yes. A delightful amalgam of cultural history and popular science, this book explores some of the most fascinating and controversial questions about language, culture and the human mind.

Guy Deutscher

Praise for Through the Language Glass

Jaw-droppingly wonderful ... A marvellous and surprising book which left me breathless and dizzy with delight. The ironic, playful tone at the beginning gradates into something serious that is never pompous, intelle ...

Fabulously interesting ... a remarkably rich, provocative and intelligent work of pop science

Brilliant [and] beautifully written

Jaw-droppingly wonderful ... A marvellous and surprising book which left me breathless and dizzy with delight. The ironic, playful tone at the beginning gradates into something serious that is never pompous, intelle ...

Fabulously interesting ... a remarkably rich, provocative and intelligent work of pop science

Brilliant [and] beautifully written

Jaw-droppingly wonderful ... A marvellous and surprising book which left me breathless and dizzy with delight. The ironic, playful tone at the beginning gradates into something serious that is never pompous, intelle ...

Fabulously interesting ... a remarkably rich, provocative and intelligent work of pop science

Brilliant [and] beautifully written

Books by Guy Deutscher

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