1: Creating language
2: Beyond symbols and signals
3: A sense of structure
4: The question of Psammetichus
5: Impossible patterns
6: All in the mind
7: A law of language
8: Botlang
9: Merge
10: Grammar and culture
David Adger is Professor of Linguistics at Queen Mary University of
London, current President of the Linguistics Association of Great
Britain, and inventor of the monsters' language for the ITV series
Beowulf. His research has been reported on in New Scientist and The
Conversation, and he has appeared on Sky News, BBC Radio 4, and
Australia's DriveTime. His 25 years of teaching have taken him all
over the world, including to the foothills
of the Himalayas.
[Adger's] tour of Chomskyan linguistics is entertaining and
accessible - in contrast to Chomsky's own notoriously baffling
prose. The book is a handy introduction to a vexed debate on the
infinite power of the finite mortal mind.
*The Economist*
Adger's highly-referenced 250-pager explores with vigour and
thoroughness I've rarely seen in a book ... a book to [the]
bookshelf.
*Jane Denny, Chemistry World*
[I]n my opinion the best attempt ever made to explain the
linguistic framework within which Adger works - that of Noam
Chomsky. The book is very readable without ever being childish,
light in tone without being annoyingly funny, and clear about the
author's point of view without being polemical.
*Marc Van Oostendorp, Neerlandistiek*
I wish there were more linguistics professors bringing their A-game
to a larger audience like this.
*Superlinguo*
Adger [...] describes the situation carefully, clearly, and
engagingly, using copious examples and analogies to communicate
some really subtle points ... I definitely recommend the book for
people who are interested in the scientific approach to language
... I congratulate Adger on this strong work that makes
extraordinarily abstract concepts clear.
*Separated by a Common Language*
In summary, a useful... book for linguists and students of
linguistics, fascinatingly written and using research from around
the world to show how different language groups, people with
different types of speech impairment and animals all search for
meaning and how to communicate it in their own way.
*Barry Tomalin, Training, Language & Culture*
A delightful journey through the many fascinating aspects of
language, its nature and use, its richness and variety and its deep
commonalities, beginning with the simplest observations and
reaching to the borders of inquiry, interleaved with striking
illustrations from a wide variety of languages and illuminating the
way with results from experimental, animal, and computational
research. A wonderful experience.
*Noam Chomsky*
A highly readable introduction to some of the big questions in
linguistics. I'd recommend this lucid and engaging book to both the
amateur language enthusiast and the beginning linguistics student.
Adger writes with true depth of understanding and generosity
towards the broader field of linguistics.
*Gretchen McCulloch, co-host of the Lingthusiasm podcast and author
of Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language*
Captivating. Adger makes the simple but profound observation that
language is more than communication.
*Kevin Berger, Nautilus*
Language Unlimited is a must for any linguistic enthusiastic.
*María Florencia Silva, Linguist List*
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