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Language Unlimited
- Author
- David Adger
- Narrator
- David Adger
- Publisher
- Tantor Media, Inc
- Publish Date
- 5 May 2020
- Run Time
- 9 hours 10 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Drawing on research from neuroscience, psychology, and linguistics, David Adger takes the listener on a journey to the hidden structure behind all we say (or sign) and understand. Along the way you'll meet children who created language out of almost nothing, and find out how new languages emerge using structures found in languages spoken continents away. David Adger will show you how the more than 7000 languages in the world appear to obey the same deep scientific laws, how to invent a language that breaks these, and how our brains go crazy when we try to learn languages that just aren't possible. You'll discover why rats are better than we are at picking up certain language patterns, why apes are far worse at others, and how artificial intelligences, such as those behind Alexa and Siri, understand language in a very un-human way.
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Details
- Author
- David Adger
- Narrator
- David Adger
- Duration
- 9 hours 10 minutes
- Release Date
- 5 May 2020
- ISBN
- 9781541437326
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Tantor Media, Inc
- Genre
- Language: reference and general, Cognition and cognitive psychology, Linguistics, Psycholinguistics and cognitive linguistics, Science: general issues, Psychology, Cognitive studies
Synopsis
All humans, but no other species, have the capacity to create and understand language. It provides structure to our thoughts, allowing us to plan, communicate, and create new ideas, without limit. Yet we have only finite experiences, and our languages have finite stores of words. Where does our linguistic creativity come from? How does the endless scope of language emerge from our limited selves?Drawing on research from neuroscience, psychology, and linguistics, David Adger takes the listener on a journey to the hidden structure behind all we say (or sign) and understand. Along the way you'll meet children who created language out of almost nothing, and find out how new languages emerge using structures found in languages spoken continents away. David Adger will show you how the more than 7000 languages in the world appear to obey the same deep scientific laws, how to invent a language that breaks these, and how our brains go crazy when we try to learn languages that just aren't possible. You'll discover why rats are better than we are at picking up certain language patterns, why apes are far worse at others, and how artificial intelligences, such as those behind Alexa and Siri, understand language in a very un-human way.
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