The Language Instinct

How the Mind Creates Language

The Language Instinct is Steven Pinker's accessible account of how humans acquire and use language. Drawing on linguistics, cognitive science, psychology, and evolutionary theory, Pinker argues that language is a specialized human capacity rather than a product of general intelligence alone. He examines grammar, word learning, speech perception, language acquisition in children, and the relationship between language and thought.

by Steven Pinker

HarperPerennial · First published 1994 · 494 pages