Notice bibliographique
- Notice
Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté : sans médiation
Auteur(s) : Corballis, Michael C. (1936-2021)
Titre(s) : The truth about language [Texte imprimé] : what it is and where it came from / Michael C. Corballis
Publication : Chicago : The University of Chicago press, copyright 2017
Description matérielle : 1 vol. (xi-260 pages) ; 24 cm
Note(s) : Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-250) and index
Evolutionary science has long viewed language as, basically, a fortunate accident--a
crossing of wires that happened to be extraordinarily useful, setting humans apart
from other animals and onto a trajectory that would see their brains (and the products
of those brains) become increasingly complex. But as Michael C. Corballis shows in
'The Truth about Language', it's time to reconsider those assumptions. Language, he
argues, is not the product of some "big bang" 60,000 years ago, but rather the result
of a typically slow process of evolution with roots in elements of grammatical language
found much farther back in our evolutionary history. Language, Corballis explains,
evolved as a way to share thoughts and, crucially for human development, to connect
our own "mental time travel," our imagining of events and people that are not right
in front of us, to that of other people. We share that ability with other animals,
but it was the development of language that made it powerful: it led to our ability
to imagine other perspectives, to imagine ourselves in the minds of others, a development
that, by easing social interaction, proved to be an extraordinary evolutionary advantage.
Even as his thesis challenges such giants as Chomsky and Stephen Jay Gould, Corballis
writes accessibly and wittily, filling his account with unforgettable anecdotes and
fascinating historical examples. The result is a book that's perfect both for deep
engagement and as brilliant fodder for that lightest of all forms of language, cocktail
party chatter
Sujet(s) : Langage -- Origines
Philosophie du langage
Psychologie sociale
Indice(s) Dewey :
401 (23e éd.) = Langues - Philosophie et théorie
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9780226287195. - ISBN 022628719X (rel.)
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb474496103
Notice n° :
FRBNF47449610
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)
Table des matières : Part one: Background to the problem. The Rubicon ; Language as miracle ; Language
and natural selection ; Part two: The mental prerequisites. Thinking without language
; Mind reading ; Stories ; Part three: Constructing language. Hands on to language
; Finding voice ; How language is structured ; Over the Rubicon.
