Pinker – The Language Instinct
Book page: pinker-language-instinct
From: Quotes batch 18
Concept
“Language is not a cultural artifact; it is a complex biological adaptation, an ‘instinct’ like spinning a web is for a spider.” (p. 18)
Behavior
“Children do not learn language by imitation alone; they behave like linguists, subconsciously deducing rules they were never taught.” (p. 32)
Game Theory
“The design of language involves a trade-off between the speaker’s effort and the listener’s clarity.” (p. 175)
Cognition
“Mentalese is the language of thought; the actual words we speak are just a translation of this deeper cognitive code.” (p. 82)
Memory
“The sheer number of words a child remembers—one every two hours—is a testament to the specialized memory for vocabulary.” (p. 150)