What is it about the human mind that accounts for the fact that we can speak and understand a language? Why can't other creatures do the same? And what does this tell us about the rest of human abilities? Recent dramatic discoveries in linguistics and psychology provide intriguing answers to these age-old mysteries. In this fascinating book, Ray Jackendoff emphasizes the grammatical commonalities across languages, both spoken and signed, and discusses...

"The leading lie-detection instructor to the FBI and other security agencies for over two decades, David Lieberman, PhD, takes "people reading" to a whole new level. Drawing on the latest research in psycholinguistics-the vital cues embedded in spoken and written speech patterns--Mindreader delivers proven, cutting-edge methods useful for countless real life applications, including: Learning to detect the messaging behind passive and indirect language,...

"Imagine a village where everyone "speaks" sign language. Just such a village - an isolated Bedouin community in Israel with an unusually high rate of deafness - is a the heart of Talking Hands: What Sign Language Reveals About the Mind. There, an indigenous sign-language has sprung up, used by deaf and hearing villagers alike. It is a language no outsider has been able to decode, until now." "A New York Times reporter trained as a linguist, Margalit...

Although we live in an ocean of words, we rarely acknowledge their power to uplift or put down, to inspire or discourage, to help or hurt. But in this jewel of a book, Hal Urban -- parent, award-winning teacher, and author of the classic Life's Greatest Lessons -- shows us simple and immediate ways that we can use language to change lives -- both our own and those around us.

Professor McWhorter delivers lectures tracing the origins and history of language.