With topics ranging from language death to sign language, Language, Frogs and Savants offers a glimpse into the fascinating world of linguistics. * Written by one of the most senior figures in linguistics. * Features fascinating topics ranging from language death to sign language.

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.

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.

Introduction: What everyone should know about language and linguistics. Part I: Language in the Limit:. Part II: Language in the Genes:. Part III: Core Concerns:. Glossary. References. Index.