Why do so many swear words involve topics like sex, bodily functions or the divine? Why do some children's names thrive while others fall out of favour? Why do we threaten and bribe and seduce in such elaborate, often comical ways? How can a choice of metaphor damn a politician or start a war? And why do we rarely say what we actually mean?
Language, as Steven Pinker shows, is at the heart of our lives, and through the way we use it - whether to inform, persuade, entertain or manipulate - we can glimpse the very essence of what makes us human.
'Awesome'
Daily Mail
'Highly entertaining ... funny and thought-provoking'
The Times
'Anyone interested in language should read The Stuff of Thought ... moments of genuine revelation and some very good jokes'
Mark Haddon, Sunday Telegraph Books of the Year
'No one writes about language as clearly as Steven Pinker, and this is his best book yet'
David Crystal, Financial Times
Descriptions are sourced from publishers or third parties and are not independently verified
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