Intelligent Squared: The Language Game, by Nick Chater and Morgan Christensen. They argue that language is not based on a set of fixed rules, but on flexible conventions. In the book, they use charades as an example to show how languages are embedded in social interaction.
Language is perhaps humanity's most astonishing accomplishment but one that remains poorly understood. On this episode of the podcast we were joined by Nick Chater, Professor of Behavioural Science at Warwick Business School, and Morten H. Christiansen, Professor of Psychology at Cornell University. Together in their latest book "The Language Game," they upend our traditional understanding of language, arguing that it's not based on a set of fixed rules, but on a constantly evolving series of flexible conventions. Our host for this episode was journalist Christine Ro.
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