Continuing with my new found appreciation of non-fiction books (more so with audiobooks I think – I still find reading non-fiction on kindle to be quite boring) I listened to this book about language and how the evolution of language across different language groups and cultures can tell us about the evolution of human thought – does language guide thought or does thought guide language or a bit of both?!
I did find it fun to listen to, and I remembered many little titbits (or ‘tidbits’ to our more sensitive American cousins!) to share with hubby Paul after most of my listening sessions. There was quite a long section on swear words and taboo expressions which the narrator listed with aplomb and I felt quite naughty with this tirade of ‘filth’ in my ears as I walked around the park and smiled and nodded at the other dog walkers.
There was a lot of stuff about grammar and how we instinctively learn grammar rules quite young even if we can’t put into words why things sound right or not even as adults, and also interesting was how the sounds of words and whether the tone goes up or down often follows the meaning across different languages even if the vowel and consonants are different .
Sarah Wray Writer 