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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
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English
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THE POWER OF LANGUAGE

Viorica Marian

How the Codes We Use to Think, Speak, and Live Transforms Our Minds

Language sometimes seems to confuse and control us. This revolutionary book goes beyond any recent book on language to dissect how it operates in our minds and how to harness its virtually limitless power.
As Dr. Marian explains, while you may well think you speak only one language, in fact there is no such thing as a monolingual person. Some people speak Spanish, some Mandarin. Some speak poetry, some seem to speak only math. The human brain is built to use multiple languages, and using more languages opens doors to all kinds of creativity, brain health, and self-control.

Every new language that we speak extracts and interprets information differently. That alters what we remember, how we perceive ourselves and the world around us, how we feel, the insights we have, the decisions we make, and the actions we take. Language is an invaluable tool for organizing, processing, and structuring information and thereby unleashing radical creativity.

Learning a new language has broad lifetime advantages, but Dr. Marian's own research has shown that it:
- Improves executive function - better focus on the road while driving, better focus on what is being taught in the classroom, better focus while reading a book!
- Results in higher scores on creative-thinking tasks.
- Develops intellect, which enhances critical reasoning decades later.
- Delays Alzheimer's and other types of dementia by four to six years.
- Improves decisions made under emotional duress.

Dr. Viorica Marian is the Ralph and Jean Sundin Endowed Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University. Since 2000, Marian has directed the university's Bilingualism and Psycholinguistics Research Lab, receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. She currently serves as Chair of the National Institutes of Health Study Section on Language and Communication. Marian is a native speaker of Romanian; a native-like speaker of Russian; a fluent speaker of English; and has studied or conducted research with a variety of other languages, including American Sign Language, Cantonese, Dutch, French, German, Mandarin, Spanish, Thai, and Ukrainian. Apart from scientific papers, Marian has written for Scientific American, Psychology Today, The Hill, Medium, Latino USA, Los Angeles Review of Books, and Chicago Tribune. Her work has been featured on NPR, PBS, BBC,NBC, and CBS, as well as many podcasts
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Book

Published 2023-04-04 by Dutton Books

Book

Published 2023-04-04 by Dutton Books

Comments

A uniquely original, fresh, and powerful perspective that promises to shape the scientific study of language and mind well into the future. The focus is not so much on how the mind does language as on what language does for the mind and its user, and crucially, on what the consequences are, for individuals and entire societies, of having more than one language in that mind.

Whether or not you have reflected on language, whether or not you speak or think in several languages, you will learn a lot from this well-researched and well-written book.

Behavioral Scientist just posted an excerpt from the book: It's a Bouba, Not a Kiki: The Relationship Between Sound, Form, and Meaning... Read more...

A highly engaging and personal journey into the superpower you didn't know you had!

Marian, a professor of communication sciences and disorders at Northwestern University, makes a convincing case for multilingualism in her illuminating debut... Marian's extensive research and thoughtful analysis lend this entry weight, and the lay reader-friendly prose makes it all go down smoothly. Curious monolinguals will be inspired to expand their linguistic horizons. Read more...

Viorica did an hour-long interview on UPR's Access Utah Read more...

THE POWER OF LANGUAGE was a Next Big Idea Club April 2023 Must Read: This revolutionary book goes beyond any recent book on language to dissect how language operates in our minds and how to harness its virtually limitless power. Read more...

Full of delightful insights, this book is thoroughly researched and compulsively readable.

Marian makes a rousing argument for multilingualism and its ability to sharpen executive functioning and boost creativity, among other benefits. Herself a trilingual, Marian exposes the "myth" of the "critical period" of childhood language learning, shows how multilingualism can promote cross-cultural understanding, and makes a convincing case that picking up a second (or third, or fourth) language can be enjoyable instead of intimidating. Read more...

Sparkles with insight. After reading this book, you will see and hear words differently - and feel a deeper appreciation for the sheer majesty of the human mind. (Bonus: It will also make you want to learn Swedish, Spanish, or Swahili!) Viorica Marian takes her place alongside Steven Pinker and George Lakoff as the author of an essential work about the science of language.

UK & C: Penguin Press UK/ Pelikan ; Arab: All Prints Distributors and Publishers SAL ; Chinese (simpl.): Dook Media ; Chinese (compl.): Morning Star Publishing ; Dutch: Ambo/Anthos ; Japanese: Kadokawa Corporation ; Korea: Wisdomhouse ; Poland: Jagiellonian University Press ; Portuguese (Brazil): Citadel ; Romanian: Humanitas ; Thai: Bookscape ; Ukraine: Vivat

In this easy-to-read and informative book, Professor Viorica Marian marshals her extensive research experience, broad knowledge of science, and a personal and engaging style in telling the story of the one arguably most human cognitive faculty: language. Among other things, this book explains how the mastery of language - or, even better, of several languages - helps us think better, live better for longer, and be better to each other. Read it, and you'll be better for it!

Viorica Marian beautifully shows all the ways that learning a second language can do so much more than simply add another way of talking; it can fortify your brain to make you sharper, wiser, more creative, and more open-minded. With clear prose, insightful analogies, and a sly sense of humor, Marian reports masterfully on the science of bilingualism to reveal that one of the most effective ways for any monolingual to expand and improve their mind is to learn a second language.

Feature: Bilingual? You should try thinking problems through in two languages Research suggests you may come to a different solution when thinking about a problem in a different language. Read more...