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Talking the Talk: Language, Psychology and Science

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Talking the Talk provides a comprehensive introduction to the psychology of language, written for the reader with no background in the field or any prior knowledge of psychology. Written in an accessible and friendly style, the book answers the questions people actually have about language; how do we speak, listen, read, and learn language?

The book advocates an experimental approach, explaining how psychologists can use experiments to build models of language processing. Considering the full breadth of psycholinguistics, the book covers core topics including how children acquire language, how language is related to the brain, and what can go wrong with it. Fully updated throughout, this edition also



Additional coverage on the genetics of language

Insight into potential cognitive advantages of bilingualism

New content on brain imaging and neuroscience

Increased emphasis on recursion and what is special about language Talking the Talk is written in an engaging style which does not hesitate to explain complex concepts. It is essential reading for all undergraduate students and those new to the topic, as well as the interested lay reader.

313 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 21, 2009

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About the author

Trevor Harley

11 books2 followers

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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for Natasha Basil .
27 reviews3 followers
September 15, 2020
A nice introduction, nothing complex. I suggest it if you are new to the subject of linguistics and psycholinguistics and want to get a general idea of the study. However, the author brings up a lot of topics, which are covered briefly. So, without any previous knowledge some things might not be clear.
Profile Image for Claire Taylor.
5 reviews1 follower
November 29, 2018
Nice introduction to language. A textbook thats easy , enjoyable and witty to read. Author seems cool. Reads like a book at times.
Profile Image for Martin.
8 reviews4 followers
June 29, 2013
It took me almost two years to finish this book. By the time I did finish it, I had already forgotten what most of the book was all about. And before you ask: no, I'm not a lazy person who has a great difficulty in reading a short book from cover to cover.

"Talking the Talk: Language, Psychology and Science" is supposedly a scholarly book; however, the author has taken a great liberty in his style of writing. Most of the book is ripe with personal anecdotes, witty comments that often span a few sentences in parentheses, and illustrations that bear the strange resemblance of a remote associations task. While this makes the book more interesting, funny (?) and easy to read, it is also the reason why I almost gave up on it.

On the positive side, the book covers a lot of self-contained topics in psycholinguistics. You could probably use it for a introductory psycholinguistics class, provided you can finish the book by the end of the semester.
49 reviews1 follower
February 13, 2017
A nice book about language from the perspective of psychology and science. Focusses on such questions as; how does language work in the mind, how do children acquire language and can language influence our thoughts?
Perhaps not the best introduction to this subject, however, as it presupposes a little too much background knowledge of its readers. (I would recommend An introduction to language from Fromkin and others as a good introduction)
Profile Image for Lonneke.
12 reviews
October 8, 2017
De stof wordt goed gebracht, het leest lekker door en de schrijver is af en toe ontzettend grappig.
Profile Image for Laura McFarland.
125 reviews
December 9, 2016
Had to read a chapter of this each week for a module for uni. It's a well written book and fairly easy to follow but I really hate psycholinguistics so this wasn't the best read...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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