Linguaphile

A Life of Language Love

Julie Sedivy

$60.95

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc
28 January 2025

linguistics; Psycholinguistics; Communication studies

A celebration of the beauty and mystery of language and how it shapes our lives, our loves, and our world.

If there is one feature that defines the human condition, it is language: written, spoken, signed, understood, and misunderstood, in all its infinite glory. In this ingenious, lyrical exploration, Julie Sedivy draws on years of experience in the lab and a lifetime of linguistic love to bring the discoveries of linguistics home, to the place language itself lives: within the yearnings of the human heart and amid the complex social bonds that it makes possible.

Linguaphile: A Life of Language Love follows the path that language takes through a human life-from an infant's first attempts at sense-making to the vulnerabilities and losses that accompany aging. As Sedivy shows, however, language and life are inextricable, and here she offers them together: a childish misunderstanding of her mother's meaning reveals the difficulty of relating to other minds; frustration with ""professional"" communication styles exposes the labyrinth of standards that define success; the first signs of hearing loss lead to a meditation on society's discomfort with physical and mental limitations.

Part memoir, part scientific exploration, and part cultural commentary, this book epitomizes the thrills of a life steeped in the aesthetic delights of language and the joys of its scientific scrutiny.

By: Julie Sedivy
Imprint: Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 211mm, Width: 137mm, Spine: 29mm
Weight: 300g
ISBN: 9780374601836
ISBN 10: 0374601836
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 28 January 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Julie Sedivy has taught linguistics and psychology at Brown University and the University of Calgary. She is the author of Memory Speaks: On Losing and Reclaiming Language and Self, Language in Mind: An Introduction to Psycholinguistics and coauthor of Sold on Language: How Advertisers Talk to You and What This Says about You. She lives in Calgary, Canada.

Reviews for Linguaphile: A Life of Language Love

""Rapturous . . . For lovers of the written and spoken word, this enchanting study is a must."" --Publishers Weekly (starred review) ""A remarkable book about how language is an essential trait of human beings--and also one of the most mysterious. . . Sedivy blends a tender memoir with a fascinating study of how language defines the human condition. . . Her love of her subject shines through in her graceful writing, resulting in a pleasing, sometimes beguiling read."" --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ""Lyrical. . . a compelling picture of language as a driving force shaping the human condition."" --Carolyn Wong Simpkins, Science