The Linguist

Become a reviewer If you would like to write a review for The Linguist, please contact the Editor, Miranda Moore, at linguist.editor@ciol.org.uk mentioning the name of the book, blog, podcast or software you would like to review, or the subject areas you are interested in covering. @CIOL_Linguists SPRING 2023 The Linguist 25 SECTION HEADER REVIEWS The key theory proposed by The Language Game is that language acquisition is like a game of charades, so we learn by a mixture of observation, intuition and shrewd guesswork. This is demonstrated neatly by the illustration of the linguistic iceberg, which floats mainly beneath the surface – although that does offer plenty of scope for discussion and debate. The authors do not accept the views of Noam Chomsky, who argues that the principles underlying the structure of a language are hardwired in the brain. This is all cogently argued with plenty of quite original examples, and will be easily accessible to the non-specialist, even though Wittgenstein is quoted at length, as indeed are various 19th-century linguists. Questions surrounding language and biological evolution are key: When do puppies learn to bark or birds to sing? How is it that small children learn to speak so easily while language scientists find language so complex? There are some excellent examples of the sheer variety of language, drawing on languages from around the world. In Navajo, for example, the verb used depends on any one of 11 categories of object (whether soft, hard etc). Some languages have few of the key elements of European languages, and their speakers still manage to communicate with Europeans. Is this simply because of visual prompts? Captain Cook and his men seem to have made contact with South Sea islanders fairly easily, and David Attenborough has shown how previously uncontacted tribes in New Guinea greeted newcomers with smiles to show they were friendly. And yet a nod to mean 'yes' in one country may mean 'no' in another. This enormous range of variety suggests to the authors that there can be no single source of language for humans to draw on. They also cast doubt on the theory of singularity, which questions whether machines might be able to develop language skills more effectively than humans. Stephen Hawking once expressed concern that machines could go on to develop language skills beyond the reach of human understanding. However the experience of early programs, such as Eliza, indicates that machines will never develop the subtlety of the human brain with regard to such things as empathy, irony, tone and style. The case for the charades theory is put forward plausibly and in a lighthearted, readable and erudite manner. It is well argued with plenty of examples, and is a useful contribution to the debate, though it is unlikely to overturn existing theories. Professor Tim Connell Hon FCIL The Language Game Morten H Christiansen and Nick Chater Bantam Press, 2022 368pp; ISBN 9781787633483 Hardback, £20 Valley relating to AI and deep learning. Remarkably, he remains academically active in his nineties. After a career-long association with MIT, he is now Professor of Linguistics at the University of Arizona. Moro is Professor of General Linguistics at the Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori in Pavia. Graham Elliott MCIL As one of the team translating Penguin's new Simenon series, I am writing in response to Michael Alpert's criticism of our translations of police ranks in the Maigret novels (TL61,5). While the translators are given a very free rein, the one thing over which we have absolutely no say is the job titles of the various police officers. Penguin issued a diktat telling us exactly how to translate the grades for each character, which is why the team of 10 have all made the same 'mistakes' according to Michael Alpert. We think long and hard about every word we translate, but the job titles are out of our control. Bearing in mind that these translations are published simultaneously in the UK and USA, and are read the world over, Penguin wanted to avoid the French officers sounding like English Mr Plods. It is irksome to be accused of carelessness by a colleague who is unaware of the level of thought and discussion that went into these decisions, and of the close and respectful collaboration between the editorial team and the translators. Ros Schwartz Defending the ranks: Maigret Star Letter prize Two Brothers Games are offering their League of the Lexicon board game to our Star Letter writer. If you love languages and games, share your views via linguist.editor@ciol.org.uk for a chance to win. Read our review at cutt.ly/TLWinter.

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