The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language

"A brilliant, witty, and altogether satisfying book." — New York Times Book Review

The classic work on the development of human language by the world’s leading expert on language and the mind

In The Language Instinct, the world's expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution. 

The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistics Society of America. This edition includes an update on advances in the science of language since The Language Instinct was first published.

In this classic study, the world's leading expert on language and the mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about languages: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it envolved.  With wit, erudition, and deft use it everyday examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution like web spinning in spiders or sonar bats.  The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistics Society of America.

"A brilliant, witty, and altogether satisfying book." - New York Times Book Review

"An excellent book full of wit and wisdom and sound judgement." - Boston Globe Book Review

"An exciting book, certain to produce argument." - Atlantic Monthly

"A brilliant piece of work." - Mind and Language

"Extremely important." - New Scientist

“An extremely valuable book, very informative, and very well written.” - Noam Chomsky

“Somebody finally got it right. Pinker’s thoroughly modern, totally engaging book introduces lay readers to the science of language in ways that are irreverant and hilarious while coherent and factually sound.” - Leila Gleitman, University of Pennsylvania, President, Linguistic Society of America