About this title: In this thoroughly revised, updated edition of his classic "Language in Thought and Action, " S.I. Hayakawa discusses the role of language in human life, the many functions of language, and how language - sometimes without our knowing - shapes our thinking. The author writes provocatively about the relationship between language and racial and ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harvest Original
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780156482400ISBN:0156482401
Description: Good. Minor shelf wear with minor markings. GoodwillnyBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. You may return new items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. read more
Description: Very Good. 0156482401 NEVER USED! There are no highlights, No pen marks, No missing pages. The binding is sturdy. This book may have slight shelf wear SUCH AS CREASES ON THE COVER, REMAINDER MARK. Upgraded shipping on orders over $49.99. Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed! read more
Description: Good. 0156482401 Paperback, Condition: Good; somewhat worn; some pages are wavy due to prior exposure to moisture; will work well as a reading copy. read more
Description: Very Good. Trade Paperback--Very Good--Other than a couple of sentences underlined, book is bright and tight with only slightest of wear. Indexed and illustrations. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Harvest Books, San Diego
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780156482400ISBN:0156482401
Description: Very Good. Tight spine, clean copy, previous owner's name inside front wrap. Illustrated wraps, edges lightly rubbed, corners slightly bumped. Text is clean and unmarked. 196 Pgs. read more
Edition: 5th ed.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harcourt Inc.
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780156482400ISBN:0156482401
Description: MacNeil, Robert. Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 216 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. Excellent condition, looks like new. No creasing or edge wear. read more
Edition: Later printing.
Binding: Trade Paperback in white wraps w color inset.
Publisher: Harcourt/Harvest, San Diego CA
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780156482400ISBN:0156482401
Description: Fine unmarked. Revised and updated editon of a classic. Nice bright crisp copy. 5-1/2 x 8-1/4, 196 pp, index, bibliography, b/w illus. read more
"This book taps into that great Niagara of information that surrounds us in everyday life, language. The author puts this fascinating flow of information under the microscope and shares with the reader important insights into how the sounds we call words and their meanings affect thoughts and have shaped human's actions."
"This is one of the most enlightening books I have ever read. Hayakawa is the kind of incredibly bright mind whose writing can make you think more methodically, conclude things more confidently, and feel smarter yourself. Somehow he seems like a friend at tea - but his observations are so clear that you wonder how he can outside enough to notice all this, and inside enough to feel familiar and patient and maybe kind. Thus, this non-fiction book was far, far more of a page turner for me than most books of fiction that I've read (and liked) lately. If he has a moral message it is unobtrusive, unassuming, and the kind of lesson that any reader who's heard any of what he's said simply must draw for herself. Come to think of it, he argues rather like lawyers should - so that the conclusion the author desires, never once spoken, is inevitable, obvious in the silence after the speech.
Hayakawa compares any use of language to the practice of drawing a map of a physical territory. Depending on how good the mapmaker is and his motivations, that map can resemble the territory very reliably, or not at all. And from this simple metaphor he draws an impeccably conscientious account of the kind of things we do when we use language, and the implications for us as actors in the world. Someday I hope to have read it enough times that I can hold all the concepts in my head at once and provide something like a summary - but until then all I can say is that more than one of Hayakawa's descriptions rang true for me in a way that clarified things about myself and my world that I'd always suspected emotionally, but never been able to articulate.
I think this book should be required reading in schools - I think we should all take courses on how we use language, why we use it those ways, what it says about us that we do, and--especially--how our ways of using language affect our ways of thinking and, ultimately experiencing and behaving in the world."
"I had to read this book in college (late 60's) and later bought a used copy to read again (early 90's). Have since read it a 3rd time. I dreaded the prospect of reading it in college, but found it surprising and readable. It's somewhat dated but still an excellent book and in my opinion should be required reading by all."
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