[Steven_Pinker]_The_Language_Instinct_How_the_Min(BookFi.org).pdf

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1、STEVENPINKERTHELANGUAGEINSTINCTTheNewScienceofLanguageandMindPENGUINBOOKSforHarryandRoslynPinkerwhogavemelanguagePrefaceIhavenevermetapersonwhoisnotinterestedinlanguage.Iwrotethisbooktotrytosatisfythatcuriosity.Languageisbeginningtosubmittothatuniquelysatisfyingkindofunderstandingthatwecallscience

2、,butthenewshasbeenkeptasecret.Forthelanguagelover,Ihopetoshowthatthereisaworldofeleganceandrichnessinquotidianspeechthatfaroutshinesthelocalcuriositiesofetymologies,unusualwords,andfinepointsofusage.Forthereaderofpopularscience,Ihopetoexplainwhatisbehindtherecentdiscoveries(or,inmanycases,nondisco

3、veries)reportedinthepress:universaldeepstructures,brainybabies,grammargenes,artificiallyintelligentcomputers,neuralnetworks,signingchimps,talkingNeanderthals,idiotsavants,feralchildren,paradoxicalbraindamage,identicaltwinsseparatedatbirth,colorpicturesofthethink•ingbrain,andthesearchforthemotherof

4、alllanguages.Ialsohopetoanswermanynaturalquestionsaboutlanguages,likewhytherearesomanyofthem,whytheyaresohardforadultstolearn,andwhynooneseemstoknowthepluralofWalkman.Forstudentsunawareofthescienceoflanguageandmind,orworse,burdenedwithmemorizingwordfrequencyeffectsonlexicaldecisionreactiontimeorth

5、efinepointsoftheEmptyCategoryPrinciple,Ihopetoconveythegrandintellectualexcitementthatlaunchedthemodernstudyoflanguageseveraldecadesago.Formyprofessionalcolleagues,scatteredacrosssomanydisciplinesandstudyingsomanyseeminglyunrelatedtopics,Ihopetoofferasemblanceofanintegrationofthisvastterritory.Alt

6、houghIaman78Prefaceopinionated,obsessionalresearcherwhodislikesinsipidcompromisesthatfuzzuptheissues,manyacademiccontroversiesremindmeoftheblindmenpalpatingtheelephant.Ifmypersonalsynthesisseemstoembracebothsidesofdebateslike"formalismversusfunctional-ism"or"syntaxversussemanticsversuspragmatics,"

7、perhapsitisbecausetherewasneveranissuetheretobeginwith.Forthegeneralnonfictionreader,interestedinlanguageandhu•manbeingsinthebroadestsense,Ihopetooffersomethingdifferentfromtheairyplatitudes—LanguageLite—thattypi