Author Description

This book provides a critical and historiographical overview of non-mainstream (‘fringe’) claims and theories about language and languages presented by non-linguists, with an especial focus on work produced in the last fifty years. Topic areas include the origins and relationships of languages, historical and non-historical aspects of writing systems, linguistic material emanating from mysterious sources, supposed non-human languages, language and the mind, etc. The ideas discussed range from the truly bizarre to the merely dubious. The last chapter deals with some aspects of mainstream linguistics which appear to invite skeptical attention. Although there is a substantial critical literature on some specific topics of this kind, there has never before been a linguistically-informed general work on this entire topic area; this work remedies this situation. Newbrook outlines, explains and critiques a wide range of such ideas, in his capacity as a professional linguist associated with the world-wide skeptical movement. The intention is to be fair and free of dogmatism in making critiques, and not to ‘debunk’ without due consideration. Newbrook also addresses the question of how each set of non-mainstream ideas developed out of earlier (often largely non-linguistic) intellectual or quasi-intellectual background thinking. Unnecessary technicalities are avoided and key concepts are explained in a glossary or as they arise.