Description
Book SynopsisThis book takes an exciting new perspective on language change, by explaining it in terms of Darwin's evolutionary theory. Nikolaus Ritt shows how the constituents of language can be regarded as mental patterns, or 'memes', which copy themselves from one brain to another when communication and language acquisition take place.
Trade Review'… addresses what may be legitimately regarded as one of the most fundamental questions a linguist can ask: why does language take the form it does? Ritt's answer is refreshingly novel, stimulating as well as astounding …' Thomas Berg, University of Hamburg
'… refreshingly novel, stimulating as well as astounding …' Zeitschrift für Sprachwissenschaft
Table of Contents1. Introduction; 2. The historical perspective; 3. Approaching 'language change'; 4. The Darwinian approach; 5. Generalising Darwinism; 6. Towards an evolutionary theory of language; 7. What does all this imply for the study of language change?; 8. How to live with feet, if one happens to be a morph-meme; 9. The prosodic evolution of English word forms or the great trochaic conspiracy; 10. Conclusion.
