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Words and Rules: The Ingredients Of Language (Science Masters Series) Kindle Edition

by Steven Pinker (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 out of 5 stars 218 ratings
"If you are not already a Steven Pinker addict, this book will make you one." -- Jared Diamond

In Words and Rules, Steven Pinker explores profound mysteries of language by picking a deceptively simple phenomenon -- regular and irregular verbs -- and examining it from every angle. With humor and verve, he covers an astonishing array of topics in the sciences and humanities, from the history of languages to how to simulate languages on computers to major ideas in the history of Western philosophy.

Through it all, Pinker presents a single, powerful idea: that language comprises a mental dictionary of memorized words and a mental grammar of creative rules. The idea extends beyond language and offers insight into the very nature of the human mind.

This is a sparkling, eye-opening, and utterly original book by one of the world's leading cognitive scientists.
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  1. Part of series
    Science Masters
  2. Print length
    538 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Basic Books
  5. Accessibility
    Learn more
  6. Publication date
    July 14, 2015
  7. File size
    18.8 MB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Human languages are capable of expressing a literally endless number of different ideas. How do we manage it--so effortlessly that we scarcely ever stop to think about it? In Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language, a look at the simple concepts that we use to devise works as complex as love sonnets and tax laws, renowned neuroscientist and linguist Steven Pinker shows us how. The latest linguistic research suggests that each of us stores a limited (though large) number of words and word-parts in memory and manipulates them with a much smaller number of rules to produce every writing and utterance, and Pinker explains every step of the way with engaging good humor.

Pinker's enthusiasm for the subject infects the reader, particularly as he emphasizes the relation between how we communicate and how we think. What does it mean that a small child who has never heard the word wug can tell a researcher that when one wug meets another, there are two wugs? Some rule must be telling the child that English plurals end in -s, which also explains mistakes like mouses. Is our communication linked inextricably with our thinking? Pinker says yes, and it's hard to disagree. Words and Rules is an excellent introduction to and overview of current thinking about language, and will greatly reward the careful reader with new ways of thinking about how we think, talk, and write. --Rob Lightner

From Publishers Weekly

MIT linguist Pinker builds on his previous successes (How the Mind Works; The Language Instinct) with another book explaining how we learn and deploy word, phrase and utterance. Some linguists (notably Noam Chomsky) have argued that everything in speech comes from hidden, hard-wired rules. Others (notably some computer scientists) claim that we learn language by association, picking up raw data first. Pinker argues that our brains exhibit both kinds of thought, and that we can see them both in English verbs: rule application ("combination") governs regular verbs, memory ("lookup") handles irregulars. The interplay of the two characterizes all language, perhaps all thought. Each of Pinker's 10 chapters takes up a different field of research, but all 10 concern regular and irregular forms of words. Pinker shows what scientists learn from children's speech errors (My brother got sick and pukeded); from survey questions (What do you call more than one wug?); from similar rules in varying languages (English, German and Arapesh); from theoretical models and their failings and from brain disorders like jargon anomia (whose victims use complex sentences, but say things like "nose cone" when they mean "phone call"). Sometimes Pinker explains linguists' current consensus; at other times, he makes a case for his own theoretical school. His previous books have been accused of excessive ambition; here he largely sticks to his own fields. The result, with its crisp prose and neat analogies, makes required reading for anyone interested in cognition and language. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00PWX7S3W
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 14, 2015
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 18.8 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 538 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0465049714
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1360L
  • Part of series ‏ : ‎ Science Masters
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 218 ratings

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Steven Pinker

Steven Pinker

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Steven Pinker is one of the world's leading authorities on language and the mind. His popular and highly praised books include The Stuff of Thought, The Blank Slate, Words and Rules, How the Mind Works, and The Language Instinct. The recipient of several major awards for his teaching, books, and scientific research, Pinker is Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He also writes frequently for The New York Times, Time, The New Republic, and other magazines.

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4.5 out of 5 stars
218 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book a great read. However, the language learning aspect receives mixed feedback, with some appreciating how it delves into regular and irregular verbs, while others find it tedious to read.

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ReadabilityLanguage learning
7 customers mention "Readability"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read.

"...Pinker's use of language is as deft as his grasp of it. His book is an enjoyable, as well as an informative read." Read more

"This is a great book for learning how someone can take a theory about language and look for support or contradiction in experiments with people:..." Read more

"...to explain his words and rules theory about language, and it is fun to read." Read more

"...between a textbook and a popular science book, this is a great read for you...." Read more

14 customers mention "Language learning"9 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's approach to language learning, with some finding it informative and noting its detailed exploration of regular and irregular verbs, while others find it tedious to read.

"...the processes of human language through an extended discussion of regular and irregular verbs...." Read more

"...He gives an explanation of why English and German, which are closely related languages, have such a different percentage of irregular verbs...." Read more

"...This is fairly far from the mark. It is instead mostly about the actual words and rules of language - specifically english verbs...." Read more

"...Pinker’s language in this book makes it very easy for the reader to understand complex information about how our brain works the way it does when it..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • John M. Ford
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Fruit Flies of Language
    Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    Psychologist, linguist, and well-known author Steven Pinker illustrates the processes of human language through an extended discussion of regular and irregular verbs. He skillfully uses our grade-school struggles with the rules and exceptions of English vocabulary to explore the larger realm of human language competence. "Like fruit flies, regular and irregular verbs are small and easy to breed, and they contain, in easily visible form, the machinery that powers larger phenomena in all their glorious complexity."

    Pinker's book explores in great detail the two different systems of the brain that produce language. One is regular and rule-like and produces patterns that range from the regular forms of some verbs to the grammatical and organizational regularities of larger chunks of language. The other is idiosyncratic and irregular and stores pieces of our linguistic competence that frustrate linguists and second-graders alike. Our working language is shaped by the interplay between these systems. They both leave their traces in the historical changes in language, similarities between different languages, the creative mistakes children and adults make while learning language, and in the way we invent and reinvent new words.

    This book is recommended to anyone who wants to understand how our mind enables us to use language. Don't worry about being trapped into a narrow dissection of verbs--the book simply uses them as an increasingly-familiar theme to explore larger language issues. And don't shrink from an imagined tangle of technical terminology. Pinker's use of language is as deft as his grasp of it. His book is an enjoyable, as well as an informative read.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Neal J. King
    5.0 out of 5 stars ...but sometimes more than I wanted to know about irregular verbs...
    Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2006
    Verified Purchase
    This is a great book for learning how someone can take a theory about language and look for support or contradiction in experiments with people: children just learning the language, people with brain damage, and even people with inherited language difficulties.

    The basic idea, that the conjugation of regular verbs is "calculated" by rule, whereas the conjugation of irregular verbs must be memorized, is not hard to grasp. Pinker goes on to show how this idea can be tested: how connectionist (neural-network) models for language learning give different predictions; how different kinds of mistakes can test different aspects of the theory; and so on. He gives an explanation of why English and German, which are closely related languages, have such a different percentage of irregular verbs. (Hint: It has to do with the Battle of Hastings.)

    Sometimes I felt that I was being overwhelmed in the details of irregular verbs. However, progress is often made in science by paying attention to the details. This book elevates the level of discussion on the nature of "proper" vs. "improper" verb formation beyond mere opinion and prejudice, to the level of scientific discussion. For an amateur like myself, it's not necessary to remember the intricacies of the argument; but it's nice to see that someone has gone through it.

    Kudos to Pinker for demonstrating that the use of language can really be an arena for scientific research.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Maria De La Torre
    4.0 out of 5 stars Pinker’s words help the reader understand language
    Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2018
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The book Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language was written by Steven Pinker, a cognitive psychologist who has written a variety of books
    about language and other topics related to psychology. He is also currently a psychology professor at Harvard University. The book looks at words and rules, which are what language consists of and helps us understand language. Steven Pinker’s language in this book makes it very easy for the reader to understand complex information about how our brain works the way it does when it comes to language. He provides real-life examples and things that are “relatable” in order to better explain his findings to the reader.
    The book begins with Pinker describing the “mental dictionary,” which is described almost as similarly as vocabulary by Pinker, in which a string of letters and sounds is associated with something, whether it be an object, person, place, or thing. After the idea of a “mental dictionary,” is interested, Pinker goes into details about the “combinatorial system,” which is when words provide an infinite number of combinations which can become into phrases and sentences and paragraphs. But because of grammar and other rules that we learn throughout our lives, these combinations go down immensely. After explaining these two phenomena, he emphasizes the title of the book by explaining that the understanding of words and rules are critical in the dissection of language. Then, regular and irregular verbs are brought up which gives a better look into the rules, because a study is done on 7-year olds showing that kids add –s to make a word plural and add –ed to make a word past tense, despite never hearing the word before. After this, he brings up irregular verbs and how there are way less of these than regular verbs and these require to store them in your “mental dictionary.” Pinker also examines how our brains react to new words. He explains this with the “words and rules” theory, which states that people use rules for regular verbs and people use their memory and patterns for irregular verbs. Pinker points out that regular verbs do not have to be retrieved by the memory at all, while people have to rely on their memory for irregular verbs in order to dig up similar irregular verbs and apply its rules to a new irregular word. Another theory that is closely looked at is the “word structure theory,” in which people understand that a word or a phrase hails from another word, but might not know why or how. In this book, Pinker also closely examines children and the mistakes they make of added –ed to past-tense irregular verbs (goed) and sometimes even –ed to past-tense irregular verbs that they have said correctly, such as wented (went). Pinker then explains his theory of the blocking principle, which is when children need to listen to past-tense irregular verbs being said in order for them to register in their minds that certain words are irregular and you cannot just add –ed to the ending. Also, he adds that a parent correcting their child when they use an ungrammatical word is ineffective. He mentions that parents correcting their children does not work, because children have the rules in their head and apply them and that the rules for irregular verbs must be learned. Toward the end of the book, Pinker goes into the brain and its significance in language. He demonstrates how damage in different parts of the brain could affect different parts of speech; for example, more damage could be done to the mental grammar than the mental dictionary. He then concludes the book by explaining that our mind is digital because we remember rules but also have to retrieve specific information.
    Steve Pinker’s book explaining words and rules is full of examples which are relatable to whoever is reading which makes it easier to follow along throughout the book and understand what he is trying to say. By providing an example everyone can connect with, about the younger people mispronouncing words he emphasizes his theory of “words and rules” by taking the reader back to his or her earliest stages of learning to speak. The various studies mentioned throughout the book, primarily involving children, are crucial to Pinker’s argument about irregular verbs and what our brain can pick up immediately versus what is recorded through patterns, like his study involving children and how they can correct themselves despite picking the wrong verbiage. His explanation of ways in which people try to substitute our understanding of ‘irregular’ verbs is well explained, by his pointing out that it would take us several seconds, or even minutes, to decipher the word we were trying to say if we used some of the more complex systems people have tried coming up with throughout history. One complaint I do have about the book though is the various charts that do not seem to help me with the underlying message of what he is trying to get across. The book could do without them and still be legible and clear. The dialogues of fresh English-speakers present in the book are good at illustrating the different points he is making about language and what the trouble areas are for them and what is simple for them. When explaining irregular verbs, he provides a string of the same word in different forms to illustrate the patterns involved in knowing and retrieving them. Also, throughout the book there are illustrations, such as the one of the brain, that shows different damages in different areas of the brain, and there also little comic strips throughout the book. These illustrations support the argument he is making. Overall, it was an informative book that explained the mechanisms of our language and how we learn and react to it.
    This book about language by Steven Pinker is a well-written, informative book that delves deeper into regular and irregular verbs and our minds. The various studies and illustrations throughout the book help illustrate he’s making at the point the illustration shows up. Pinker uses his words well to explain his words and rules theory about language, and it is fun to read.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Eran
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books. If you like to read books which ...
    Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    One of my favorite books.
    If you like to read books which are somewhere along the spectrum between a textbook and a popular science book, this is a great read for you.
    It gives many examples of interesting phenomena in a few languages, and it made me think of these ideas relating to languages I know.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Sidney Shaw
    5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect.
    Reviewed in Mexico on June 28, 2020
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Came in without printing mistakes and exactly as advertised.
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  • shorebird
    5.0 out of 5 stars 不規則動詞はこんなに面白い．
    Reviewed in Japan on August 12, 2003
    Verified Purchase
    スティーブンピンカーの快作，今回は言語学者の領分に戻って規則動詞と不規則動詞の話．ミクロの面白い話がいろいろつながって人間の進化的な理解につながっている．しかしこの本の真骨頂は規則不規則のオタク話だろう，脱帽のおもしろさ．タコの複数形の話は笑える．
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  • Marcus
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fun with irregular verbs (but caveats on the Kindle)
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    The book:

    Most of Pinker's books are pop-non-fiction. This is different. Pinker's day job is investigating regular and irregular verbs and nouns. Why is the plural of 'housewife' housewives, but the plural of 'lowlife' is lowlifes? Why does 'rats infested' sound wrong but 'mice infested' is OK? Sounds specialised, but from the deepest possible analysis of this tiny facet of grammar, Steven Pinker has uncovered facts about our brains and minds where hordes of introspecting philosophers have failed.

    Don't expect to skim read this book and enjoy it, but if you enter into its arguments it will reward you.

    The Kindle version:

    The text was auto-generated by an OCR assisted by a spell-checker. It did a pretty good job of the prose sections, but this book has numerous examples of regular endings on irregular words and vice versa. The spell checker has tipped these into nearby but unrelated words, resulting in nonsense. It can be quite a challenge to work out what Pinker actually wrote. Moreover, every instance of "page XXX" has been replaced with a hyperlink to that page. Makes sense when it is a link, but when it is just an example from someone else's book, it is bizarre.

    If you know these issues and are prepared to put in a bit of mental effort, the Kindle version is cheaper and more convenient. But be aware before you buy.
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  • RR Waller
    5.0 out of 5 stars Pinker's Words and Rules
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 17, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    Stephen Pinker is one of the clearest and interesting modern writers on language; he is also an excellent speaker who, because of his great depth of knowledge of his own subject and his obvious enthusiasm for it, is able to communicate that to his listeners. As a great user of language himself, he is an excellent advocate for its clearer use.
    He explains the complexities of Chomsky's linguistic ideas with its deep structures and transformational grammar in ways which make them more understandable to the "everyday" reader before explaining more modern approaches based in Chomsky's ideas.
    In this more scholarly and somewhat drier text (after the "Language Instinct"), he deals with words and rules, the content and method, in ways which make this a fascinating insight into how humans developed and use language.
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  • Mogandazra
    4.0 out of 5 stars Really enlightening, if you stick with it.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 22, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Less social comment, more grammatical analysis than some of his books. Still really interesting and enlightening if you stick with it.
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