The Linguist

@Linguist_CIOL FEBRUARY/MARCH The Linguist 27 REVIEWS the puzzles, the author informs us, are taken or adapted from Linguistics Olympiads, which for the uninitiated are regularly held competitions in which young language geeks showcase their puzzle-solving talents. The book is divided into ten chapters that cover such topics as the languages of the British Isles, computer language, alphabets and writing systems (modern, ancient and invented) and the language of family. The first chapter starts us off with some English-based puzzles that are relatively straightforward, but the degree of difficulty increases rapidly as the book progresses. Around 50 languages have been used, and in principle no knowledge of linguistics or of any language other than English is required. In the author's words, the puzzles can be solved through a combination of "mathematical reasoning, linguistic intuition, out-of-the-box thinking and bits of general knowledge". For readers seeking a rather less daunting challenge, the book also contains amenable and amusing language quizzes, referred to as 'Lingo Bingo', in which we have to choose the correct answer from four plausible options. One of the book's most interesting features is that it provides concise information on the subjects to be dealt with in each chapter, so readers are equipped with useful background details before tackling the content. Since the puzzles involve languages and scripts that are mostly unfamiliar to us, they are often fun to read and ponder in themselves, whether or not we are up to solving them. Going beyond its stated problem-solving purpose, The Language Lovers' Puzzle Book: Lexical perplexities and cracking conundrums from across the globe takes us on a journey through some of the most intriguing fields in the science of linguistics: deciphering ancient scripts, translating previously unknown, isolated or endangered languages, and training computers to understand human language. It is an illuminating, well-written and entertaining read, to be enjoyed by puzzle fans and language lovers alike. Ross Smith MCIL The Language Lover's Puzzle Book Alex Bellos Guardian Faber Publishing, 2020 416 pp; ISBN 978-1783352180 Paperback £14.99 century sets out to provide answers to questions such as these. It is divided into 12 chapters, each concerning a specific linguistic topic. Prestigious academics specialising in the fields concerned (sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, etc) seek to provide explanations that can be readily understood, and enjoyed, by non-specialists. Considering the breadth of learning covered, it seems reasonable to assume that professional linguists will also find at least part of it to be unfamiliar and worth investigating. As the editors point out, the book includes references to the work not only of language scholars but also of psychologists, biologists, anthropologists, palaeontologists, philosophers and ecologists, among others – a reminder of the centrality of language to human behaviour. Some of the topics discussed, such as non- human communication, prescriptivism and linguistic relativism, may be regarded as classic linguistic conundrums, while others have come into the limelight more recently, including those addressed in the chapters titled 'Is Talking Work Doing Work?' and 'Can You Tell Someone's Sexuality from the Way They Speak?' The relative ease of learning signed or spoken language, and the extent to which a person's identity can be ascertained from their speech or writing, even if they try to disguise it, are other socially significant issues that receive individual attention. In general, the authors strike a commendable balance between the technicalities of their subjects and the need to explain them in ordinary prose. The questions are well chosen and leave few stones unturned. One rather surprising exception is the absence of a specific chapter addressing what is probably the most commonly asked question of all: how did human language begin in the first place? Considering that this age-old theme has attracted more attention than usual lately, thanks to the well-publicised feud between the linguists Noam Chomsky and Daniel Everett, it might have seemed an obvious choice. In any event, its omission does not detract from the overall excellence of this collection. Hopefully it will whet the curiosity of lay readers with an interest in language to continue exploring this fascinating discipline. Ross Smith MCIL Questions About Language Laurie Bauer & Andreea S Calude (eds) Routledge, 2020 198 pp; ISBN 978-0367175016 Paperback £18.99 Have you ever wondered whether creatures such as birds or whales can be said to have a language, or whether swearing frequently is evidence of an impoverished vocabulary, or whether languages are shaped by the environments in which they are spoken? Questions about Language: What everyone should know about language in the 21st As its title suggests, The Language Lover's Puzzle Book is a collection of language- related puzzles and quizzes put together by Alex Bellos, a writer and in-house puzzle expert at The Guardian newspaper. Most of

• Cover