"Words and Rules" by Steven Pinker argues that language operates through two distinct cognitive mechanisms: a set of regular grammatical rules and a lexicon of irregular words. This duality explains how humans can generate novel utterances by applying rules and recall existing ones from memory. The book investigates how these mechanisms interact to produce the complex, often irregular, patterns observed in human language and how language evolves.
Readers will understand the dual nature of language acquisition and production, grasping how the mind manages both the systematic application of grammar and the memorization of exceptions. Pinker addresses fundamental questions about language's structure, change, and apparent illogicalities by proposing these two distinct cognitive systems.
Key concepts
- Regular grammatical rules — A cognitive mechanism for generating novel utterances systematically.
- Irregular words — A lexicon of memorized exceptions to grammatical rules.
- Language change — How the interaction of rules and irregular words drives linguistic evolution.
- Language quirks — Irregularities in language explained by the interplay of rules and memorized forms.