Every Word Is a Bird We Teach to Sing
- Authors
- Tammet, Daniel
- Publisher
- Little Brown and Company
- Tags
- language arts & disciplines , linguistics , general , writing , social science , essays , philosophy , language
- Date
- 2017-09-12T00:00:00+00:00
- Size
- 3.55 MB
- Lang
- en
A mind-expanding, deeply humane tour of language by the bestselling author of Born on a Blue Day and *Thinking in Numbers.
Is vocabulary destiny? Why do clocks "talk" to the Nahua people of Mexico? Will A.I. researchers ever produce true human-machine dialogue? In this mesmerizing collection of essays, Daniel Tammet answers these and many other questions about the intricacy and profound power of language.
In Every Word Is a Bird We Teach to Sing , Tammet goes back in time to London to explore the numeric language of his autistic childhood; in Iceland, he learns why the name Blaer became a court case; in Canada, he meets one of the world's most accomplished lip readers. He chats with chatbots; contrives an "e"-less essay on lipograms; studies the grammar of the telephone; contemplates the significance of disappearing dialects; and corresponds with native Esperanto speakers - in their mother tongue.
A joyous romp through the world of words, letters, stories, and meanings, Every Word Is a Bird We Teach to Sing* explores the way communication shapes reality. From the art of translation to the lyricism of sign language, these essays display the stunning range of Tammet's literary and polyglot talents.