The Unfolding of Language：The Evolution of Mankind`s greatest Invention

'Languageismankind'sgreatestinventionuaexceptofcourse,thatitwasneverinvented.'SobeginsGuyDeutscher'senthrallinginvestigationintotheevolutionoflanguage.NoonebelievesthattheRomanSenatesatdownonedaytodesignthecomplexsystemthatisLatingrammar,andfewbelieve,thesedays,intheliteraltruthofthestoryoftheTowerofBabel.Butthenhowdidtherecometobesomanylanguages,andofsuchelaboratedesign?Ifwestartedoffwithrudimentaryutterancesonthelevelof'manthrowspear',howdidweendupwithsophisticatedgrammars,enormousvocabularies,andintricatelynuancedshadesofmeaning?Drawingonrecent,groundbreakingdiscoveriesinmodernlinguistics,Deutscherexposestheelusiveforcesofcreationatworkinhumancommunication.Alongtheway,welearnwhyGermanmaidensareneuterwhileGermanturnipsarefemale,whywehavefeetnotfoots,andhowgreatchangesofpronunciationmayresultfromsimplelaziness...