What is language and how does it work? The ability to use language is one of the most remarkable cognitive capacities humans possess. This book investigates, in a clear and accessible style, what is going on behind the words. Based on a rich literature of empirical research, Hilpert argues that human language emerges from a network of social and cognitive skills, such as categorization, joint attention, and analogical reasoning, which are not just used in language, but also in other domains of human cognition. Each chapter covers a different aspect of language and shows how these are all interlinked as part of a social and cognitive system, to show that ultimately, the foundations of language are not in themselves linguistic. For anyone who is curious about the human linguistic capacity, this fascinating book offers a compelling account of how language works, and how its complexity emerges from simpler components.
Loading metrics...
* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.
Usage data cannot currently be displayed.
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.
The PDF of this book complies with version 2.1 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), covering newer accessibility requirements and improved user experiences and achieves the intermediate (AA) level of WCAG compliance, covering a wider range of accessibility requirements.
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
You gain clarity from ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles and attributes, as they help assistive technologies interpret how each part of the content functions.