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9780198736684

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This book asks some of the most fundamental questions that there can be about language and mind, and answers them in ways which are provocative, challenging, and surprising, in the context of current theorizing within philosophy and linguistics. The theory is supported by a wealth of conceptual and empirical arguments with detailed discussion of consequences for central grammatical notions such as case, person, word order, phases, and semantic notions such as reference, predication, and truth. This must be one of the most important books about language and thought in a very long time. * Anders Holmberg, Professor of Theoretical Linguistics, Newcastle University * An essential reference for anyone trying to grapple with the mysterious underpinnings of that most essential of human qualities, language. * Ian Tattersall, Curator Emeritus, American Museum of Natural History * A radical vision that challenges standard conceptions that human language is a mere conduit for thought, that there is a Language of Thought, and that Grammar and Semantics are separable. Hinzen and Sheehan ground their Un-Cartesian approach in ancient linguistic traditions in India and in the work of the Modistae, for whom grammar was central to an understanding of minds, and reality. Upturning major assumptions of modern Linguistics and Philosophy of Language, this enthralling book is a central one for Cognitive Science. * Jill De Villiers, Professor of Psychology and Philosophy, Smith College *

A radical vision that challenges standard conceptions that human language is a mere conduit for thought, that there is a Language of Thought, and that Grammar and Semantics are separable. Hinzen and Sheehan ground their Un-Cartesian approach in ancient linguistic traditions in India and in the work of the Modistae, for whom grammar was central to an understanding of minds, and reality. Upturning major assumptions of modern Linguistics and Philosophy of Language, this enthralling book is a central one for Cognitive Science. Jill De Villiers, Professor of Psychology and Philosophy, Smith College An essential reference for anyone trying to grapple with the mysterious underpinnings of that most essential of human qualities, language. Ian Tattersall, Curator Emeritus, American Museum of Natural History This book asks some of the most fundamental questions that there can be about language and mind, and answers them in ways which are provocative, challenging, and surprising, in the context of current theorizing within philosophy and linguistics. The theory is supported by a wealth of conceptual and empirical arguments with detailed discussion of consequences for central grammatical notions such as case, person, word order, phases, and semantic notions such as reference, predication, and truth. This must be one of the most important books about language and thought in a very long time. Anders Holmberg, Professor of Theoretical Linguistics, Newcastle University

`A radical vision that challenges standard conceptions that human language is a mere conduit for thought, that there is a Language of Thought, and that Grammar and Semantics are separable. Hinzen and Sheehan ground their Un-Cartesian approach in ancient linguistic traditions in India and in the work of the Modistae, for whom grammar was central to an understanding of minds, and reality. Upturning major assumptions of modern Linguistics and Philosophy of Language, this enthralling book is a central one for Cognitive Science.' Jill De Villiers, Professor of Psychology and Philosophy, Smith College `An essential reference for anyone trying to grapple with the mysterious underpinnings of that most essential of human qualities, language.' Ian Tattersall, Curator Emeritus, American Museum of Natural History `This book asks some of the most fundamental questions that there can be about language and mind, and answers them in ways which are provocative, challenging, and surprising, in the context of current theorizing within philosophy and linguistics. The theory is supported by a wealth of conceptual and empirical arguments with detailed discussion of consequences for central grammatical notions such as case, person, word order, phases, and semantic notions such as reference, predication, and truth. This must be one of the most important books about language and thought in a very long time.' Anders Holmberg, Professor of Theoretical Linguistics, Newcastle University

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Wolfram Hinzen Wolfram Hinzen is a Research Professor at the Catalan Institute for Advanced Studies and Research (ICREA) and is affiliated with the Linguistics department of the University of Barcelona and the Philosophy Department of the University of Durham (2006-2014). He writes on issues in the interface of language and mind. He is the author of Mind Design and Minimal Syntax (OUP, 2006) and An Essay on Names and Truth (OUP, 2007) and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Compositionality (OUP, 2012). Michelle Sheehan is a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge specialising in comparative syntax with a particular interest in the Romance languages. She has worked on null arguments, Control, word order variation, extraposition, clausal-nominal parallels, and case/alignment. She is co-author of Parametric Variation: Null Subjects in Minimalist Theory (CUP, 2009) and co-editor of Theoretical Approaches to Disharmonic Word Orders (OUP, 2014).

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