Bibliofreakblog

The First Word by Christine Kenneally

Over on ye olde Twitter this week we’ve been discussing language–it’s origins, it’s usages, it’s variations, etc–on #litchat.  It’s a grand time for the likes of me, and has given me the spirit to post about previously unreviewed language books.  Unfortunately, for some at least, the reason why I haven’t reviewed them is because they would only be of interest to the most ardent of armchair linguists.  

Judging by the title, and the cover, you’d think that this would be about the evolution of language.  Instead, it’s really about the evolution of the study of language over the last half-century.  

Don’t get me wrong, African Gray Parrots are awesome, and I still think that Noam Chomsky is kinda a douche, but it doesn’t add up to a killer read.  Besides, if you read a lot about linguistics, you probably know why I say those two things.

But if you don’t, and are curious enough, this book does explain why scientists never looked for the origin of language (Noam said it was pointless, and he was practically God Almighty in the world of linguistics, so nobody looked into it…told you he was kinda a douche).  It’s just that you probably aren’t going to want to read a whole book about it.  An article?  Yes.  One chapter in one book?  Sure.  But not a good half of a book.

HOWEVER, remember how I said that ardent armchair enthusiasts might enjoy this?  Well, if you are such a one, you might like this.

I guess I’m just not ardent enough.

If you like this book/author, you might like:

The Stories of English (NF) by David Crystal
The Unfolding of Language (NF) by Guy Deutscher 
The Search for the Perfect Language (NF) by Umberto Eco
The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language (NF) by Steven Pinker
Talking Ape: How Language Evolved (NF) by Robbins Burling
The Ancestor’s Tale (NF) by Richard Dawkins
Empires of the World: A Language History of the World (NF) by Nicholas Ostler
The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language (NF) by John Mcwhorter
Eats Shoots & Leaves (NF) by Lynne Truss
Consider the Lobster (CNF) by David Foster Wallace
Freakonomics (NF) by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
The Professor and the Madman (NF) by Simon Winchester

Other works by Christine Kenneally:

none