Keeping Those Words in Mind: How Language Creates Meaning

The human brain has a language instinct, impressive memory skills, and patterns in the sequence of sounds and words that enable us to understand language. This book offers a new and interdisciplinary explanation for our ability to extract meaning from language by examining how our brains process language and find patterns.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 360 pages
\n Publication date: 01 June 2021
\n Publisher: Prometheus Books
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The human mind is a remarkable organ capable of storing and comprehending vast amounts of information. One of the most astounding feats it accomplishes is the ability to retain thousands of words and effortlessly understand trillions of sentences. The question of how humans achieve this remarkable cognitive feat has intrigued scholars for centuries. While various explanations have been proposed, one answer has largely been overlooked. In his book, "Keeping Those Words in Mind," linguist and cognitive psychologist Max Louwerse, Ph.D., argues that understanding language goes beyond memory, brains, environment, and computation. He asserts that the patterns in the sequence of sounds and words themselves play a crucial role in our ability to comprehend language.

Louwerse demonstrates that what appears to be an arbitrary communication system, with arbitrary characters and sounds that form words and arbitrary meanings for those words, is, in fact, a well-organized system that has evolved over tens of thousands of years. The human brain has developed intricate mechanisms to process language and identify patterns. By examining how our brains process language and detect patterns, we can gain insights into the intricacies of the language system itself. Furthermore, Louwerse explores scientific breakthroughs in computer science and artificial intelligence, which have shed light on the mechanisms behind human language processing.

By examining these various aspects, "Keeping Those Words in Mind" offers a fresh and interdisciplinary perspective on our ability to extract meaning from language. It challenges traditional theories and provides a deeper understanding of the complex processes that underpin our linguistic abilities. This book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in language, cognitive science, and the human mind. It offers a new perspective on an old question and provides valuable insights into the remarkable capabilities of the human mind.

\n Weight: 698g\n
Dimension: 165 x 237 x 35 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781633886506\n \n