The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language

I would recommend this book to a linguist, but it's way too verbose for easy reading. For each point he pulls out an arsenal of examples.

I think that it could have been half as long and twice as powerful.

Yes, he certainly puts his case together well and thoroughly.

I didn't have the intellectual ability to understand or remember some of his case.

Yes, the narration is excellent to present this kind of study.

Yes, try and beat the idea that I will never speak another language like a native. The argument Steven Pinker puts is solid, but I like the challenge to try.

I never realised how language is the key indicator to us humans being top of the pecking order or how we all seem to think what is good language, but what really is a never ending changing, developing and growing form of communication. Steven Pinker takes us from concepts to mouthing words, from grammar to history of languages. From the child to the adult and why apes don't talk. It is a good intellectual book to listen to. I enjoyed the book even though I am not at the level in my thinking to fully understand all that was presented. Nicely phrased though.

This book was quite a challenge as it got quite technical at times. But I learned a lot about languages and grammar, and how the brain influences each. While I was not convinced that language is an instinct or that there is a grammar gene, there is ample evidence that there is a significant relationship between neuorlogical processes in the brain and grammar and language.

When I read other books now, I look more at structure and how authors express ideas, what makes things clear or confusing, and notice the difference between writing in different periods.

Steven Pinker is an excellent writer and an all-around smart guy. I always learn a lot when I read anything by Steven Pinker. Having said that, though, I have to admit that parts of this book were somewhat dull (such as the detailed analysis of grammar in chapter 4), and parts were a little hard to follow. I feel like I would need to listen to the book a second time to catch all the parts I missed when my wind wandered. But, overall, I think the book is well worth reading.

The narrator himself is fine, but the recording is poor. The "s" sounds are very harsh and prominent. I think this problem is called "sibilance". I had to turn the treble way down on my car's sound system, and I still cringed whenever a word had an "s" in it.

I loved this book! The narration is great. It's all about language and linguistics. You will find out why it's easier to learn a language as a child. How the chimps never really caught on to language like we thought they would. Why it's not really true that you think differently when speaking a different language. All language started as a proto world language and two languages in Africa directly descended from that. Go ahead, you can end a sentence with a preposition. That rule is just made-up! Learn why. This book kept me enthralled form start to finish. Includes some interesting cases of medical language defects and what they tell us. Easy to listen to and understand, and it's fun!!!

I listened "The Better Angels of our Nature" and LOVED it so naturally I wanted to listen to more of Pinker's books. This one went right over me so fast, my head is still spinning.

Dr. Pinker is a Harvard Professor, an expert in many things, and has a talent for explaining things. This book hit the first two descriptions full blast but as far as explaining things? Well, he talked about so many grammar terms I don't think I've ever heard of let alone understood. This book is sentence diagramming on steroids.

But hey, he's a Harvard Prof and the closest I've ever been to Cambridge MA is a weekend in Boston.

A very interesting and convincing argument to claim that the human ability to use language must have some basis in a genetic, instinctive 'grammar module' in the brain.

I'm not sure if the fault lay with the recording or the narrator, but in any case the audio is very sibilant. The slurred or hissed S's distract from the content, and sometimes have even caused me to go back and relisten to a word in order to make it out.

Nonetheless, the content is interesting.

I enjoyed this book, though some of the pieces of information or anecdotes weren't new to me. I liked how the author clearly laid out his arguments, though I didn't always need 15 examples of the phrase or concept he was explaining. The book was a pleasant listen and I was pleased that it was broader than a basic discussion of language. The author allowed himself to spend time explaining related concepts and instincts to put the language stuff in perspective.

My main concern with the book was that it was a bit dated in places, including one reference that was just ridiculous from a 2012 perspective (but not central to the story Pinker was trying to tell). The book was first written in 94, I think, but was updated more recently. The end of book addresses those dated items. It was nice to hear a short update on some of the affected topics, though it sounds like Pinker's general theories did not change. The dated bits were mostly just pop culture references, I think the science (or theory) holds up.

Yes

No. He sounds like the automated calls from CVS telling me my prescription is ready. I sped up the replay to make it less boring.

No