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The Stuff of Thought
by Steven = Pinker
(Viking=20 Books)
Pinker will appear at Bagdad Theater, 3702 SE Hawthorne, Fri = Sept 28,=20 7 pm, $21 (includes book)

The Stuff of Thought

by Steven Pinker

BY COURT= NEY=20 FERGUSON

Don't be like me. Don't bring Steven Pinker's The Stuff of = Thought:=20 Language as a Window into Human Nature on your beach = vacation=E2=80=94you're just=20 going to abandon it in favor of a trashy magazine. Do, however, read it = when=20 you're nestled on your couch on a cold rainy day, 'cause it's a = fascinating read=20 that takes time and effort to savor. As Pinker says, "We are verbivores, = a=20 species that lives on words, and the meaning and use of language are = bound to be=20 among the major things we ponder, share, and dispute." (Just not while = on=20 vacation.)

Pinker's discourse details how thoughts affect language and what we = reveal=20 about our inner world through our everyday use of words. It's heady = stuff=E2=80=94we're=20 talking textbook-heavy. The book lays the foundation of its more = interesting=20 points with 100-plus pages of "content-locative" and semantic whatnot, = but it's=20 definitely written for the casual grammar nerd (what's up homies!). It = should be=20 noted that Pinker is a Harvard professor and has been a two-time = finalist for=20 the Pulitzer Prize, so the word-wonkage is undoubtedly strong.

The Stuff of Thought's best moments are in the explanations of = why=20 people swear and use indirect language. The use of polite indirect = questions,=20 like "Would you mind passing me the butter?" saves face in a civilized = society.=20 By not using bossy language to order around the butter-keeper, the asker = isn't=20 perceived as a domineering git. Pinker dissects why we innately use a = simpering=20 question, rather than just blurting out a command, and the result is = fascinating=20 explanation of how we think and why we do what we do.

On the other end of the polite spectrum, Pinker explores the joys of=20 profanity. "Taboo speech is part of a larger phenomenon known as word = magic...=20 [People] treat the name for an entity as part of its essence, so that = the mere=20 act of uttering a name is seen as a way to impinge on its referent.=20 Incantations, spells, prayers, and curses are ways that people try to = affect the=20 world through words, and taboos and euphemisms are ways that people try=20 not to affect it." While you might have to wrap your brain around = tenses,=20 Extreme Nativism, and polysemy before you can figure out why you're = constantly=20 swearing like a drunken sailor, it's abso-fucking-lutely worth it. =

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Eartha L. Goodwin Photography *Specializing in portraits, fine-art = prints,=20 and private lessons

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