A History of Language
Published on 1. July 2018
272 pages
978-1-78023-946-0 (ISBN)
Description
It is tempting to take the tremendous rate of contemporary linguistic change for granted. What is required, in fact, is a radical reinterpretation of what language is. Steven Roger Fischer charts the history of language from the times of Homo erectus, Neanderthal humans and Homo sapiens through to the nineteenth century, when the science of linguistics was developed, as he analyses the emergence of language as a science and its development as a written form. He considers the rise of pidgin, creole, jargon and slang, as well as the effects radio and television, propaganda, advertising and the media are having on language today. Originally published in 1999, this new format edition, which includes a new preface by the author, also shows how digital media will continue to reshape and re-invent the ways in which we communicate.
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Additional editions
Steven Roger Fischer
A History of Language
Book
06/2018
2nd Edition
Reaktion Books
€21.50
Available immediately
Person
Steven Roger Fischer FRS is the author of many popular books including A History of Language (1999) and A History of Writing (2001), both published by Reaktion.
Content
- Cover
- Title Page
- Imprint Page
- Contents
- Preface to the New Edition
- Foreword
- 1: Animal Communication and 'Language'
- 2: Talking Apes
- 3: First Families
- 4: Written Language
- 5: Lineages
- 6: Towards a Science of Language
- 7: Society and Language
- 8: Future Indicative
- References
- Select Bibliography
- Index
