> I have to put a plug in for Guy Deutscher's The
> Unfolding of Language. From a professional or academic
> linguist standpoint, I'm sure it has its shortcomings;
> BUT, from a completely lay perspective (i.e., mine), I
> think it's a great, easy-to-digest history of
> linguistic evolution. From a conlanger perspective,
> it's basic ideas would be tailor-made to use as the
> building blocks of a language working from the ground
> up. As an introduction to this topic, I thoroughly
> enjoyed it (enough to purchase the paperback when it
> came out).
>
> Another one I read recently was The First Word by
> Christine Kenneally ISBN 978-0670034901. This one got
> bogged down in a couple spots, but it did an excellent
> job in outlining the supposed origins of language
> itself as well as the current state and history of
> academic investigation into this long-ignored realm.
> Once again, from a conlanger's perspective, one might
> be able to incorporate some ideas into a conworld
> setting and use these concepts to explain why your
> language has the traits that it does.
>
>
>
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