Illichsvitych in the mid1960s adding kartvelian and dravidian. Tracing the evolution of the mother tongue a very enlightening and at times very much enjoyable reading experience, i also have not really found the book all that linguistically convincing. In the origin of language noted linguist merritt ruhlen takes you on a. World heritage encyclopedia, the aggregation of the largest online encyclopedias available, and the most. This book presents a series of illuminating studies which conclusively demonstrates that the prevailing conception of historical linguistics is deeply flawed. A guide to the languages of the world by merritt ruhlen and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Its hard to imagine a cultural phenomenon thats more important than the development of language. Pdf the origin of language download read online free. The origin of languagea critically acclaimed journey back through time in search of the mother tongue and the roots of the human familyinvites the reader to learn and apply the common process used by linguists. Tracing the evolution of the mother tongue by merritt ruhlen and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Science newsthis book represents exactly the kind of thinking that is needed to pull historical linguistics out of its twentiethcentury doldrums. Tracing the evolution of the mother tongue by ruhlen, merritt abebooks. In 1994, ruhlen published these two books that have similar.
A courageous, eloquent book of great significance to all who care about where we came from. And yet no human attribute offers less conclusive evidence regarding its origins. Tracing the evolution of the mother tongue by ruhlen, merritt august 15, 1996 paperback on. And you neednt know any other than your mother tongue when you start, but youll probably want to go out and learn several more languages by time you are done. The reader does not get to hear or test theories on the whys and hows of linguistic diversity, but from ruhlen s word tables, language trees, and maps there emerges a wellargued thesis against the eurocentrists and for a monogenesis of language.
The nature and origin of language by denis bouchard book resume. As a sophomore in college, i desperately wanted to major in theoretical linguistics, but i knew only three languages, and i was advised that this was insufficient. Tracing the evolution of the mother tongue annotated edition by merritt ruhlen isbn. With the origin of language, merritt ruhlen makes this fascinating science accessible to readers with no linguistic background. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The origin of language a critically acclaimed journey back through time in search of the mother. Merritt ruhlen is the author of the origin of language 3. This book looks at how the human brain got the capacity for language and how language then evolved. Merritt ruhlen, phd palo alto, california is the author of a guide to the worlds languages. Tracing the evolution of the mother tongue 9780471159636.
Tracing the evolution of the m tongue by merritt ruhlen paperback, 256 pages, published 1996. The protohuman language also protosapiens, protoworld is the hypothetical direct genetic predecessor of all the worlds languages the concept is speculative and not amenable to analysis in historical linguistics. Amongst other linguists, ruhlens work is recognized as standing outside the mainstream of comparativehistorical linguistics. It presupposes a monogenetic origin of language, i. Tracing the evolution of the mother tongue by merritt ruhlen 19960815. Book awards book club selections books by author books by series coming soon kids books new releases teens books this months biggest new releases. Things might have been different if this book were available then. History of language including words on the brain, origins of language, linguistic groups, language and race, enclaves of language, romance and germanic, linguistic evolution, imperial tongues, new languages from old. The origin of language is the first book to explain, in laymens terms. The book is certain to accelerate research towards the ultimate reconstruction of the protolanguage and to cast more light on mankinds unknown past, although much needs to be done. Tracing the evolution of the mother tongue by ruhlen, merritt and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The notion that language was a divine gift to humanity, not shared by lower creatures, was supported by the biblical accounts of adam naming the animals and of the tower of babel.
And you neednt know any other than your mother tongue when you start, but. In these studies, the author presents compelling evidence for one common origin for all the worlds languages. Merritt ruhlen the origin of language pdf merritt ruhlen. This modern research was amplified by the russian vladislav m. Using plentiful, engaging, and challenging examples, ruhlen. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. In like manner, the new world is deemed to contain hundreds of. Starting with a doityourself classification of language, he makes the case for one early language, using joseph greenbergs study of native american languages as.
Merritt ruhlen, a prominent linguist, has, in the origin of language, given us a. Public debate about language in the englishspeaking world during the nineteenth century turned on the issue of how language began. The origin of language a critically acclaimed journey back through time in search of the mother ton. Five theories on the origins of language thoughtco. Tracing the evolution of the mother tongue by merritt ruhlen august 1, 1996 paperback by isbn. I do have to point out that while i have found merritt ruhlens the origin of language. Tracing the evolution of the mother tongue by merritt ruhlen. In the origin of language noted linguist merritt ruhlen takes you on a fascinating journey of discovery back through nearly 100,000 years of human history and prehistory in pursuit of the language from which all modern tongues derive. Lorigine des langues by ruhlen merritt and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
Ruhlen a guide to the worlds languages, stanford univ. The author argues that language is a system of signs, considers how these elements first came together in the brain, and examines the brain mechanisms that allowed their formation. This database, compiled by merritt ruhlen, contains certain kinds of linguis origins and evolution of language and speech, ed. On the origin of languages share book recommendations. Tracing the evolution of the mother tongue by merritt ruhlen 19940422. Tracing the evolution of the mother tongue, and a guide to the worlds languages.
When ruhlen mother tongue theory meets the null hypothesis. One of the worlds foremost language researchers takes readers stepbystep through the hotly contested evidence that all modern languages derive from one mother tongue once spoken by primitive humans in africa. Merritt ruhlen books list of books by author merritt ruhlen. The book supports the nostratic theory, proposed in 1903 by the danish linguist holger pedersen to encompass indoeuropean, uralic, altaic, afroasiatic, and possibly other language families under one broad category. The mystery, says christine kenneally in her book the first word, lies in the nature of the spoken word. Most linguists today believe that there is no good evidence that the indoeuropean family of languages is related to any other language family, or even any other language.
1518 1588 399 637 356 944 1549 205 523 410 773 409 872 504 514 924 217 562 807 795 1027 307 324 402 147 448 1190 190 843 1043 206 529 1517 1264 1355 413 664 765 356 190 1202 1342 765 1304 919