Bastard Tongues: A Trailblazing Linguist Finds Clues to Our Common Humanity in the World's Lowlie...
Bastard Tongues is an exciting, firsthand story of scientific discovery in an area of research close to the heart of what it means to be hum...
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reviews
Apr 20, 2010
David
rated it: 
In this ill-conceived effort, part memoir, part a smattering of dumbed-down linguistics, Derek Bickerton has succeeded in writing a book that is likely to interest nobody, except perhaps members of his own family. I can't imagine who he, or his editors, thought would find it readable, let alone interesting.
The autobiographical stuff is an undisciplined hodgepodge, whose disjointed nature is not improved by the self-congratulatory tone that is always close to the surface. Even more t More...
The autobiographical stuff is an undisciplined hodgepodge, whose disjointed nature is not improved by the self-congratulatory tone that is always close to the surface. Even more t More...
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Feb 01, 2012
Dan
rated it: 
A *very* fun read.
A romp through Bickerton’s life as a creole linguist, with tales of visiting really backwater villages in remote places—villages where they speak a “deep creole” or pidgin language. Bickerton is a real field research linguist who’s trying to understand how/why creoles develop out of pidgins. The book is full of his personal history of how he semi-accidentally backs into being an academic, his somewhat unorthodox research methods, and his history of ideas about c More...
A romp through Bickerton’s life as a creole linguist, with tales of visiting really backwater villages in remote places—villages where they speak a “deep creole” or pidgin language. Bickerton is a real field research linguist who’s trying to understand how/why creoles develop out of pidgins. The book is full of his personal history of how he semi-accidentally backs into being an academic, his somewhat unorthodox research methods, and his history of ideas about c More...
May 14, 2011
Ensiform
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The author, a field linguist specializing in the development of Creoles, combines a memoir in broad strokes with an overview of his main hypothesis about Creoles. This latter boils down to an endorsement of what he calls the language bioprogram, based on Chomsky’s idea that children have an innate template that enables them to acquire (not “learn”) language. Bickerton rejects the super- and substrata theories (that Creoles are essentially dumbed down European languages, or relexified African l
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Jan 01, 2011
Smellsofbikes
rated it: 
This is an amazing book. Bickerton talks about the basic structure of language, as shown by creole languages, which, he thinks, reflect the underlying grammar structure of the brain. His writing style is confrontational and controversial, making the book feel like a combination of Steven Pinker and Redmond O'Hanlon, and his research style is equally controversial, including a proposal to try to create an ab initio creole by putting a fair number of two-year-olds from various backgrounds togeth
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Jun 21, 2011
Candace
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This was such an interesting book. I have always been interested in patois. I've learned a couple of Jamacian patois phrases from my friend Devon at work but I never seem to be able to get the correct inflection. The book made me see how woefully ignorant I am of the mechanics of the English languege. I know I should give myself a break - the author is a Linguist after all. The long held assumption that common language was spread through nautical jargon spoken worldwide is challenged by Bic
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Jan 16, 2011
Dirk
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I read this book after it was given to my by my friend Sargeant following a certain conversation. I started reading it out of obligation. As I should have known, that is no reason to read a book.
Bickerton argues that grammar is innate to the human brain, and that creole languages hold the key to this innate structure. If you are interested in language and you want to read a highly informal account of how it works, you may be interested in this book.
There is a lot of TMI f More...
Bickerton argues that grammar is innate to the human brain, and that creole languages hold the key to this innate structure. If you are interested in language and you want to read a highly informal account of how it works, you may be interested in this book.
There is a lot of TMI f More...
Jan 06, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
My reading of Bastard Tongues by Derek Bickerton coincided with getting hired by the Census. It ended up being a mental preparation for the wide range of languages I might face in the field. Now nearly a year later, my review writing lines up with my husband packing for a business trip to New Orleans, a place where Creole is spoken.
Derek Bickerton's book is that perfect blend of memoir and research I crave in my nonfiction reading. I mark this book among my favorites, along with Your More...
Derek Bickerton's book is that perfect blend of memoir and research I crave in my nonfiction reading. I mark this book among my favorites, along with Your More...
Apr 20, 2010
Jan
rated it: 
Part adventure story and part intellectual biography, this book is Derek Bickerton's labor of love, a story of an accidental journey into the world of colonial bastard tongues, feeding an intense curiosity and culminating in the man's advocacy of heretofore misunderstood Creoles and the people who speak them. As an added bonus, we get insight into humanity's innate ability to form languages, and how scant inputs have combined in remarkably similar ways across the world.
The underlyin More...
The underlyin More...
Jul 01, 2008
Marissa
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jun 04, 2009
Yair
rated it:
"Bastard Tongues" is an interesting mix of travelogue, autobiography, linguistics primer, and inside view of the scientific discovery process. Bickerton's dry, self-deprecating humor and amusing anecdotes make it an enjoyable read, while still explaining the what motivated his studies, how he pursued his discoveries, and why they are important. Along the way he provides an insightful commentary on science, the scientific method, and modern academia.
Aug 09, 2011
Ken
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Great book. I wish he could have pulled off the experiment of 6-10 families with one year old children thrown together on an island, all speaking different languages. The children would have probably come up with a full-fledged grammar using words input by the experimenters. It got nixed by some chicken shit academics. Too bad for science and lingusitics. Anybody in ESL should read this.
Jan 01, 2010
Gail
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I was hoping to like this a lot more than I did. It delivered in the beginning with just the right mix of humor and linguistics, but the end got too jumbled with the author's personal politics. For a very promising start, the middle was all over the place, and the end was abrupt with a sickeningly sweet bow to tie it up. Still, I learned some interesting things and got to pretend that I, too, was a ground-breaking linguist, if only for a few hours.
Jul 08, 2008
Jack
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Here is yet more support to Steven Pinker's thesis in The Language Instinct that there is indeed genetic grounding for language. Several times in the book, Derek Bickerton offers up the details of the ideal experiment to test this notion, but it appears that modern (litigious, PC) society will be unlikely to allow such an experiment, despite its potential to improve the lives of the experiment's subject. I share few of the author's personal characteristics (much of the book dwells on his life i
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Jul 09, 2009
Susan
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He mixes a lot of personal history with the linguistics, so if that's not your thing, you might want to choose a different book.
Fascinating look at how tossing out preconceptions and looking at the evidence can take you to surprising places.
Fascinating look at how tossing out preconceptions and looking at the evidence can take you to surprising places.
Jul 12, 2010
Allison
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Excellent intro to Creole studies, wrapped inside a wild adventure travel memoir. This book made me simultaneously want to become a linguist and go drinking with Derek Bickerton.
Nov 23, 2008
Louise
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This is essentially a mystery and a quest describing one linguist's journey to solve a riddle that continues to puzzle him over the years. A bit of Globe Trekker through a linguist's ears and eyes.
Oct 07, 2009
Dylan
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Read the first 100 pages, got bored, got rid of it. Author needs to find more interesting ways of explaining linguistic concepts.
Apr 15, 2011
Amy
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This book is GREAT! It's written in a quick-witted, casual style that is intelligent and doesn't simplify linguistic details too much for the sake of the lay-reader. It's an adventure story, a safari, a vacation, a dive into the linguistic 'bioprogram' we just may all have in our brains...
May 25, 2010
Stephanie
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Bickerton is a lot of fun to read. Really interesting book about pidgins and creoles
May 09, 2008
Turi
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I usually take a look into language books that I see - it's an interesting subject, but books about it are usually too dry for me to really get into. With Derek Bickerton's book, though, I knew I'd like it right away. He takes the reader on a tour of the world, following his career as something of a maverick linguist specializing in pidgins and creoles. There are moments where the technical linguistic aspects were over my head, but he kept them interesting and jumped right back into his story
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Apr 08, 2008
Patricia
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Wow! A linguistics book that is funny, sharp, witty, educational, and entertaining all in one. Even if you don't understand the first thing about languages and how they develop, you should give this a read. It also pairs nicely with Talking Hands: What Sign Language Reveals About the Mind, since both deal with the way the human mind is programmed to develop a rich, full language despite any obstacles it may encounter.
Jun 02, 2008
Stephanie
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You don't have to find linguistics terribly intriguing to get into this book, but it certainly helps. It reads kind of like a nonfiction book and kind of like a novel, taking us through the life of the author as he journeyed through parts of the world and parts of the linguistic academic circles. Guaranteed to make you think a little more about the language you take for granted... even if you majored in linguistics.
Jun 12, 2008
Sarah
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Linguistics is a minor passion of mine, so i was excited about this "accessible" book. He spends a lot of time on discrediting colleagues and accepted theories, but also goes into the social factors that play key roles how Creole languages develop. But his true interest - experimenting to see whether children with inadequate language inputs will create robust language - is what kept me reading.
Aug 17, 2008
American
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I won't lie, this book wasn't a piece of cake. There are portions that are very dense with linguistic jargon that I could only skim and barely understood at all. That being said, most of the book was extremely interesting and a quick, fun read. I also came away from this book feeling like I had learned something about world history that I didn't know before. I give it a thumbs up!
Jul 28, 2009
Abraham
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"Bastard Tongues" has two important things going for it: 1) The author has lived an interesting life, and 2) The theory he puts forward, to understate it, is intriguing. And since it is basically a mixture of a memoir and a soapbox for the author to explain the results of his decades of research (formal and otherwise), this book is a worthwhile read.
Jan 27, 2011
I enjoyed his casual style of writing. I felt like I was exploring with him. The last paragraph sums it all up, refuting the idea that Creole languages are bastard languages but rather purest expression. He theorizes that we all are born with a language structure in which to fit or create whatever we are exposed to.
Jan 10, 2009
Dedrick
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The book discusses how Creoles from different areas (such as Suriname and Hawaii) are grammatically similar if vocabulary is still different. The author has a very down-to-earth way of discussing the topic, to the point being very anti-academia.
Apr 18, 2011
Michael
rated it:
I point you to my friend John Bump's review for a thorough and well-conceived synopsis of this book. The material is probably compelling, but I couldn't stand the author's style. I was interested in his work, but not his life, and not his wacky methods.
Apr 03, 2009
Katie_marie
rated it:
Travelogue meets Creoles. Definitely my kind of books. Made even better with the quirky, tell-it-like-it-is style of Bickerton. Gone are the days of building a strong academic career off a one-year diploma in linguistics. Great theories and good stories.
Jul 30, 2008
Kat
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This book is a mixture of colonial history, personal history, history of linguistics, plus a whole lot of linguistics. I enjoyed it, but I wonder what non-linguists think of it.
