Don't Believe a Word by David Shariatmadari, read by Damian Lynch

Published: Aug. 12, 2019, 4:33 p.m.

b"Click here to buy: https://adbl.co/2YaFTC6\\n\\nTHINK YOU KNOW LANGUAGE? THINK AGAIN\\nA word's origin doesn't tell you what it means today\\nThere are languages that change when your mother-in-law is present\\nMistakes don't undermine English, they lay its foundations\\nThe language you speak could make you more prone to accidents\\n'Untranslatable' words are usually anything but\\nThere's a special part of the brain that produces swear words \\nThe truth is so much more interesting than the rumours . . .\\n\\nOver the past few decades, we have reached new frontiers of linguistic knowledge. Linguists can now explain how and why language changes, describe its structures, and map its activity in the brain. But most of us know as much about language today as we did about physics before Galileo, and the little we know is still largely based on folklore, instinct or hearsay. \\n\\nIn DON'T BELIEVE A WORD linguist David Shariatmadari takes us on a mind-boggling journey through the science of language, urging us to abandon our prejudices in a bid to uncover the (far more interesting) truth about what we do with words. Exploding nine widely-held myths about language while introducing us to some of the fundamental insights of modern linguistics, David Shariatmadari is an energetic guide to the beauty and quirkiness of humanity's greatest achievement."