Through the Language Glass
Why The World Looks Different In Other Languages
Published on 3. February 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-0-09-950557-0 (ISBN)
Description
"Guy Deutscher is that rare beast, an academic who talks good sense about linguistics... he argues in a playful and provocative way, that our mother tongue does indeed affect how we think and, just as important, how we perceive the world." Observer
*Does language reflect the culture of a society?
*Is our mother-tongue a lens through which we perceive the world?
*Can different languages lead their speakers to different thoughts?
In Through the Language Glass, acclaimed author Guy Deutscher will convince you that, contrary to the fashionable academic consensus of today, the answer to all these questions is - yes. A delightful amalgam of cultural history and popular science, this book explores some of the most fascinating and controversial questions about language, culture and the human mind.
*Does language reflect the culture of a society?
*Is our mother-tongue a lens through which we perceive the world?
*Can different languages lead their speakers to different thoughts?
In Through the Language Glass, acclaimed author Guy Deutscher will convince you that, contrary to the fashionable academic consensus of today, the answer to all these questions is - yes. A delightful amalgam of cultural history and popular science, this book explores some of the most fascinating and controversial questions about language, culture and the human mind.
Reviews / Votes
Jaw-droppingly wonderful ... A marvellous and surprising book which left me breathless and dizzy with delight. The ironic, playful tone at the beginning gradates into something serious that is never pompous, intellectually and historically complex and yet always pellucidly laid out. Plus I learned the word plaidoyer which I shall do my utmost to use every day * Stephen Fry * Fabulously interesting ... a remarkably rich, provocative and intelligent work of pop science * Sunday Times * Brilliant [and] beautifully written * Financial Times * So robustly researched and wonderfully told that it is hard to put down * New Scientist * A delight to read * Spectator * Fascinating -- Alex Bellos, author of Alex's Adventures in Numberland The book that I've found myself telling other people about most has been Through The Language Glass, Guy Deutscher's gripping pop-science book about linguistics and neuropsychology, describing how language shapes our perception of reality * Spectator * Playful and provocative ... Guy Deutscher is that rare beast, an academic who talks good sense about linguistics * The Observer * A sceptical reappraisal of the popular, and often misunderstood, notion that language influences thought * Economist *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cornerstone
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
Illustrations (some col.), ports
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
299 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-09-950557-0 (9780099505570)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
08/2016
Cornerstone Digital
€9.49
Available for download
Person
Guy Deutscher is the author of The Unfolding of Language: The Evolution of Mankind's Greatest Invention. Formerly a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge and of the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, he is an honorary Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. He lives in Surrey with his wife and two daughters.