Here are 100 books that The Atoms Of Language fans have personally recommended if you like
The Atoms Of Language.
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I have taught psychology in UK universities for over 35 years. I love finding a 'way in' to the subject for my students. I challenge them to find a passion, and I love seeing that passion 'take off' in someone. In my experience, these are five books that have helped psychology students (me included) to find their passion.
I was captivated by the first chapter of this book, which summarises the case for considering language to be a human instinct. I love the way that it deploys rational thought and evidence in pursuit of intriguing 'grand theorizing'. It's a compelling read and expertly constructed introduction to the psychology (and sociology) of language. It is also a case study in how to build arguments.
The diminishing role of rational thought and evidence-based argument in the wider political sphere is one of the greatest threats to our world. So, when we read books like this, we are not simply making a personal decision. We are also making a political statement about the kind of world we want to live in.
'Dazzling... Pinker's big idea is that language is an instinct...as innate to us as flying is to geese... Words can hardly do justice to the superlative range and liveliness of Pinker's investigations' - Independent
'A marvellously readable book... illuminates every facet of human language: its biological origin, its uniqueness to humanity, it acquisition by children, its grammatical structure, the production and perception of speech, the pathology of language disorders and the unstoppable evolution of languages and dialects' - Nature
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I’ve been fascinated by languages since my teenage years, when, in addition to my native Russian, I learned English, French, Spanish, Latin, Hebrew, and Esperanto to varying degrees of fluency. But it was in college that I decided to pursue linguistics as a profession, in part influenced by one of the books on my list! After 20 years of doing scientific research and teaching linguistics at different universities, I switched gears and now focus on bringing linguistic science to the general audience of lifelong learners. Even if you don’t change your career, like I did, I hope you enjoy reading the books on my list as much as I have!
Any book on language by John McWhorter is a worthwhile read, but this one, I think, is his all-time best! Who knew that a book that starts with a discussion of verb conjugation in Persian can be a page-turner, right?
I was struck by McWhorter’s appreciation for what lesser-known languages, like Ket in Siberia or Twi in Ghana, show us about how the human mind works. But the most mind-blowing thing about this book, in my opinion, is how well McWhorter succeeds in describing how complex every human idiom is in a way that is clear and engaging without being lost in the disheveled intricacies of Fongbe or Navajo.
A love letter to languages, celebrating their curiosities and smashing assumptions about correct grammar
An eye-opening tour for all language lovers, What Language Is offers a fascinating new perspective on the way humans communicate. from vanishing languages spoken by a few hundred people to major tongues like Chinese, and with copious revelations about the hodgepodge nature of English, John McWhorter shows readers how to see and hear languages as a linguist does.
Packed with big ideas about language alongside wonderful trivia, What Language Is explains how languages across the globe (the Queen's English and Suriname creoles alike) originate, evolve, multiply,…
I’ve been fascinated by languages since my teenage years, when, in addition to my native Russian, I learned English, French, Spanish, Latin, Hebrew, and Esperanto to varying degrees of fluency. But it was in college that I decided to pursue linguistics as a profession, in part influenced by one of the books on my list! After 20 years of doing scientific research and teaching linguistics at different universities, I switched gears and now focus on bringing linguistic science to the general audience of lifelong learners. Even if you don’t change your career, like I did, I hope you enjoy reading the books on my list as much as I have!
I couldn’t put down this book from the very first pages that tell the story of Monsieur Leborgne and how Doctor Broca, who treated him, made the vital linguistic discovery that immortalized his name.
I learned that some groundbreaking linguistic discoveries are still made in hospitals, but one no longer needs to have a brain injury to be of interest to neurolinguistic science.
I also loved discovering how clever experiments are designed and how MRI gives us a window into how language works in the brain in real-time.
Mia Lark is running out of options. There is only one way to change the score: the fantasy planet Revivium.
Armed with the powerful magic in the helm and the friendly AI, Hex that goes with it, Mia throws caution out the window. It’s time to find the main guildhall…
I’ve been fascinated by languages since my teenage years, when I learned English, French, Spanish, Latin, Hebrew, and Esperanto—in addition to my native Russian. But it was in college that I decided to pursue linguistics as a profession! After spending 25 years conducting scientific research and teaching linguistics at various universities, I shifted my focus toward sharing linguistic science with a broader audience of lifelong learners. Whether or not these books inspire you to pursue linguistics as a career, I hope you find these books as enjoyable and rewarding as I have.
A whirlwind tour of what state-of-the-art linguistic science has to offer!
Even after 25 years of working in the field, I discovered fascinating new insights, ranging from how deaf children acquire sign languages to experimental efforts teaching human language to apes.
But what was especially fun for me was a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how Adger designed an alien language for a TV show. It truly inspired me to reflect on how I would have done it differently and how our personal experiences shape our work as scientists.
Language Unlimited explores the many mysteries about our capacity for language and reveals the source of its endless creativity.
All humans, but no other species, have the capacity to create and understand language. It provides structure to our thoughts, allowing us to plan, communicate, and create new ideas, without limit. Yet we have only finite experiences, and our languages have finite stores of words. Where does our linguistic creativity come from? How does the endless scope of language emerge from our limited selves?
Drawing on research from neuroscience, psychology, and linguistics, David Adger takes the reader on a journey to…
I’ve been fascinated by languages since my teenage years, when I learned English, French, Spanish, Latin, Hebrew, and Esperanto—in addition to my native Russian. But it was in college that I decided to pursue linguistics as a profession! After spending 25 years conducting scientific research and teaching linguistics at various universities, I shifted my focus toward sharing linguistic science with a broader audience of lifelong learners. Whether or not these books inspire you to pursue linguistics as a career, I hope you find these books as enjoyable and rewarding as I have.
Any book on language by John McWhorter is worth reading, but this particular one has become my new favorite!
I found it absolutely unputdownable and, at times, hilarious. McWhorter takes a very refreshing and entertaining approach to language evolution by uncovering the hidden, constantly changing history of words, grammar, and sounds.
I was especially awed by McWhorter’s choices of fun examples, well explained. Most impressive, however, is how effortlessly he explains complex concepts like semantic drift and vowel shifts, making them perfectly clear to readers with absolutely no background in linguistics.
A bestselling linguist takes us on a lively tour of how the English language is evolving before our eyes -- and why we should embrace this transformation and not fight it
Language is always changing -- but we tend not to like it. We understand that new words must be created for new things, but the way English is spoken today rubs many of us the wrong way. Whether it’s the use of literally to mean “figuratively” rather than “by the letter,” or the way young people use LOL and like, or business jargon like What’s the ask? -- it…
I’ve been fascinated by languages since my teenage years, when I learned English, French, Spanish, Latin, Hebrew, and Esperanto—in addition to my native Russian. But it was in college that I decided to pursue linguistics as a profession! After spending 25 years conducting scientific research and teaching linguistics at various universities, I shifted my focus toward sharing linguistic science with a broader audience of lifelong learners. Whether or not these books inspire you to pursue linguistics as a career, I hope you find these books as enjoyable and rewarding as I have.
While linguistics often seems highly theoretical or academic, David Crystal beautifully demonstrates one of its practical, real-world applications.
The book vividly transported me to London’s Globe Theatre, where a dedicated group of theatre and linguistics enthusiasts recreated the original pronunciation of the Bard's plays. I loved learning that the English spoken by Queen Elizabeth II sounds nothing like the language used during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
What I found most compelling is Crystal’s explanation of how reversing four centuries of language evolution can reveal hidden meanings—and comedic jokes—that Shakespeare originally intended for his audience.
How did Shakespeare's plays sound when they were originally performed? How can we know, and could the original pronunciation ever be recreated? For three days, Shakespeare's Globe presented a production of Romeo and Juliet in original, Shakespearian pronunciation. In an unusual blend of autobiography, narrative, and academic content, David Crystal recounts the unique nature of the experience. He begins by discussing the Globe Theatre's approach to 'original practices', which had dealt with all aspects of Elizabethan stagecraft - except pronunciation. A large section is devoted to the nature of the Early Modern English sound system. There are reports of how…
Winner of the 2024 New Mexico - Arizona Book Award.
In this deeply researched novel of America's most celebrated outlaw, Mark Warren sheds light on the human side of Billy the Kid and reveals the intimate stories of the lesser-known players in his legendary life of crime. Warren's fictional composer…
I’ve been fascinated by languages since my teenage years, when I learned English, French, Spanish, Latin, Hebrew, and Esperanto—in addition to my native Russian. But it was in college that I decided to pursue linguistics as a profession! After spending 25 years conducting scientific research and teaching linguistics at various universities, I shifted my focus toward sharing linguistic science with a broader audience of lifelong learners. Whether or not these books inspire you to pursue linguistics as a career, I hope you find these books as enjoyable and rewarding as I have.
I was stopped in my tracks by the unique approach that Moro takes: instead of the usual discussion of this or that language that actually exists, Moro examines what NEVER happens in human languages and what those boundaries can teach us.
I was mesmerized by how skillfully he bridges neuroscience and philosophy of language. The book pushed me to ask questions I had never considered before and forced me to challenge my own assumptions about what I thought I knew.
An investigation into the possibility of impossible languages, searching for the indelible “fingerprint” of human language.
Can there be such a thing as an impossible human language? A biologist could describe an impossible animal as one that goes against the physical laws of nature (entropy, for example, or gravity). Are there any such laws that constrain languages? In this book, Andrea Moro—a distinguished linguist and neuroscientist—investigates the possibility of impossible languages, searching, as he does so, for the indelible “fingerprint” of human language.
Moro shows how the very notion of impossible languages has helped shape research on the ultimate aim…
I put my hand where I couldn’t see it and was repaid for my foolishness by a scorpion sting. I was the doctor on an expedition to Madagascar and my friends thought their doctor was going to die. I was already fascinated with the ways animals interact with humans and this incident brought such reactions into sharp focus. Working as a physician in England, Nepal, and elsewhere, I’ve collected stories about ‘creepy crawlies’, parasites, and chance meetings between people and wildlife. Weird, wonderful creatures and wild places have always been my sources of solace and distraction from the challenging life of a working doctor and watching animals has taught me how to reassure and work with scared paediatric patients.
Attenborough’s books describing his early travels while making various Zoo Quest films in the 1950s and early 1960s were republished in 2018 and it is a delight to re-read about the many challenges he faced to secure footage of enormously rare animals, especially as his tales are all delivered with brilliant British understatement. Attenborough has an acute eye for wildlife as well as a talent for communicating the atmosphere of a place and sympathy with the people he meets and charms. His films and his writing including on the lemurs of Madagascar had me dreaming of my own expeditions and adventures, and which ultimately I was lucky enough to make real.
'With charm, erudition, humour and passion, the world's favourite natural history broadcaster documents some of his expeditions from the late 1950s onwards' Sunday Express
Following the success of the original Zoo Quest expeditions, the young David Attenborough embarked on further travels in a very different part of the world.
From Madagascar and New Guinea to the Pacific Islands and the Northern Territory of Australia, he and his cameraman companion were aiming to record not just the wildlife, but the way of life of some of the indigenous people of these regions, whose traditions had never been encountered by most of…
I wrote Orchid Muse: A History of Obsession in Fifteen Flowers. I’m a historian, a master gardener, and I’ve grown a few hundred orchids for over half my life. I love collecting stories of orchids because, well, they’re fascinating, and they offer a deeper connection to the pastime I love best.
What a thoughtful, mysterious, magical, dark, and satisfying book. A great mix of history and travel memoir. Ecott details the deep myths circulating around vanilla and orchids in general over the past few centuries. He performed amazing on-the-ground research on the island of Reunion (off the coast of Madagascar), piecing together the real history of the first person to hand-pollinate the vanilla orchid, an enslaved boy named Edmund Albius. I found his story both soul-wrenching and an index to the possible lives of enslaved people we have no record of.
From Papantla in Mexico-"the city that perfumed the world"-to the Indian Ocean islands, Vanilla traces the story of the vanilla plant and its secretive trade. From the golden cups of Aztec emperors to the ice-cream dishes of U.S. presidents, Vanilla has mystified and tantalized man for centuries. The only orchid that produces an agriculturally valuable crop, vanilla can mask unpleasant tastes and smells, but also makes pleasant tastes stronger, smoother, and longer lasting. Because it has over four hundred separate flavor components, choosing premium vanilla beans is as complex as judging the aroma and taste of fine wine. Vanilla finds…
Ramon Ramirez’s Dog is a collection of essays written over the years about the adventures and misadventures, mostly outside but occasionally inside the diplomatic career of a U.S. ambassador. Common threads weaving the stories together are a desire for a life well-lived, balancing career with family and friends, keeping physically…
Growing up in the former Jacobite heartland of Aberdeen, I've had an interest in the Jacobites for almost as long as I can remember. When I was about six, my father was explaining to me on a bus in King Street in the city that Charles Edward could never have won, when another passenger walked the length of the top deck to contradict him. Lost, excluded, and alternative histories fascinated me and still do. History’s winners still too often present partial and excluding stories. Even in Scotland, Jacobitism is still misunderstood, but understanding is much better than it was thirty years ago, and I'm pleased to have done my bit to change that.
The Jacobites and their cause were a global political phenomenon, celebrated from Madagascar to Latin America.
Rebecca Wills’ study is one of the few that examines the Jacobites in one country – Russia – which was a major destination of Jacobite exiles. Some of their service to the Tsar has a contemporary resonance-General James Francis Edward Keith (1696-1758) was both governor of Ukraine and Viceroy of Finland in the 1740s.
This study explores the role played by the Jacobite diaspora in Russia in the saga of Jacobite intrigue and British foreign policy between 1715 and 1750. Drawing on both Russian and British sources, the narrative follows the changing fortunes of Jacobitism in Russia as a key influence on European diplomacy. Uncovering a tale of adventure, enterprise and espionage, it demonstrates that the threat posed by Jacobite intrigue was not confined to the possibility of military action, but was closely linked to the influence of Jacobite agents on every area of Anglo-Russian political and territorial rivalry. In doing so it relates…
