The Language Game

Forget the language instinctthis is the story of how we make up language as wegoLanguage isperhaps humanitysmost astonishingcapacityand one that remains poorly understood. InThe Language GamecognitivescientistsMortenH.Christiansenand Nick Chatershowus where generations of scientistsseekingthe rules oflanguagegot it wrong. Language isnt about hardwiredgrammarsbut about near-total freedom something like a game of charades with the only requirement being a desire tounderstand andbe understood.From this new vantagepointChristiansen and Chaterfind compellingsolutions tomajormysterieslikethe origins of languagesandhow language learning is possibleand to long-running debatessuch as whetherhaving two words for blue changes what we see the endthey showthatthe only realconstrainton communicationisourimagination.