Language, Frogs and Savants: More Linguistic Problems, Puzzles and Polemics

What does it mean to know a language? Is there a language gene? What do we lose when a language dies? Picking up where his previous book Language, Bananas and Bonobos left off, Neil Smith explores these questions and more in a collection of essays that will intrigue the linguist on holiday or the language lover in all of us. With topics ranging from sign language to the mispronunciations of two–year–olds, Language, Frogs and Savants offers a further glimpse into the fascinating world of linguistics.

Dedication. Preface. Introduction: What everyone should know about language and linguistics. Part I. The meaning of ‘Language’. Part II. Knowledge of Language. Part III. Describing Knowledge of Language. Part IV. Explanation in Language. Part V. Linguistics as a ‘Science’. Part VI. Beyond language: Pragmatics and the Language of Thought. Part I Language in the Limit. 1. Savants. 2. Singing by the Dead. 3. Maganar Hannu. 4. Sneering at the Arts. 5. Babes and Sucklings. 6. Censored?. 7. Did you know that the Portuguese for Turkey is Peru?. Part II Language in the Genes. 8. Obstinacy. 9. Backlash. 10. Is there a gene for linguists?. 11. Frogs, Parrots, Grooming, the Basal Ganglia and Language. Part III Core Concerns. 12. Parametric Poverty. 13. Linguistics by Numbers. 14. Modules, Modals, Maths & the Mind. 15. Nothing. 16. The. 17. Are gucks mentally represented?. Postscript: A Refutation. 18. Wonder. Glossary. References. Index.

Neil Smith is one of the most senior figures in British linguistics. He is Professor of Linguistics in the Department of Phonetics and Linguistics at University College London, and has been Head of the Linguistics Section of the Department since 1972. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including The Twitter Machine (Blackwell, 1989), The Mind of a Savant (with Ianthi Tsimpli, Blackwell, 1995), Chomsky: Ideas and Ideals (1999, 2004) and Language, Bananas and Bonobos (Blackwell, 2002). He was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1999 and an Honorary Member of the LSA in 2000.

Praise for Neil Smith’s Language, Bananas and Bonobos… "These sketches by Neil Smith′s deft and expert hands provide a wonderful sampling of many and diverse paths of inquiry inspired by and informing the study of language, the unexpected delights one encounters on the way, the surprising and thought–provoking insights, and the puzzles, paradoxes and mysteries that offer a persistent challenge to understanding of essential elements of human nature." Noam Chomsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology "Neil Smith has not only a profound knowledge of current developments in linguistics but also a talent for explaining the issues clearly and approachably." John Wells FBA, University College London