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vivakresh's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Learned a lot! Somewhat tedious in places. Generally speaking I liked learning about how languages are different in fundamental ways and how that affects our thinking.
tombennett72's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating stuff, presented clearly and in a way that is easy to digest. A great read!
hannahrmcl's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
2.0
interesting concepts, fucking boring execution
skimmed through second half
skimmed through second half
sksrenninger's review against another edition
4.0
A lot more anthropology than I was expecting, but I was happily surprised. The author is clever and funny, but he really likes his word games and seems to be constantly saying "See what I did there?" Yes, I did, but the obvious pratfalls get old about halfway through. However, I really enjoyed his tone and I was content with what I learned about the evolution of language. I look forward to another book by Deutscher.
adastrame's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting and easy to read book which brings psycholinguistics to the masses. I probably should have read this earlier, because it could have helped me a bit with my homework on "overview linguistics" ;)
aylart's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
3.5
Definitely interesting and told in an entertaining way. The author clearly loves language (and colours), but sometimes perhaps a little too much. While I highly appreciate the enthusiasm and plays on words, this book should have been about half the size it currently is, in my opinion. Perhaps I should be a bit more forgiving, since I am a linguist myself, so familiar with a lot of the concepts. So let's say 75%.
There is quite a lot of repetition and there are many explanations that feel long-winded. This does not take away from the interesting content, but did make reading a bit slow. Not all of what is said is interesting or grand enough to deserve 50 pages in my opinion. I expected a lightly broader coverage, instead of the very in-depth reporting on a few items.
There is quite a lot of repetition and there are many explanations that feel long-winded. This does not take away from the interesting content, but did make reading a bit slow. Not all of what is said is interesting or grand enough to deserve 50 pages in my opinion. I expected a lightly broader coverage, instead of the very in-depth reporting on a few items.