Every Word Is a Bird We Teach to Sing: Encounters with the Mysteries and Meanings of Language

About this book

A mind-expanding deeply humane tour of language by the bestselling author of Born on a Blue Day and Thinking in Numbers. Is vocabulary destiny? Why do clocks "talk" to the Nahua people of Mexico? Will A.I. researchers ever produce true human-machine dialogue? In this mesmerizing collection of essays Daniel Tammet answers these and many other questions about the intricacy and profound power of language. In Every Word Is a Bird We Teach to Sing Tammet goes back in time to London to explore the numeric language of his autistic childhood; in Iceland he learns why the name Blr became a court case; in Canada he meets one of the worlds most accomplished lip readers. He chats with chatbots; contrives an "e"-less essay on lipograms; studies the grammar of the telephone; contemplates the significance of disappearing dialects; and corresponds with native Esperanto speakers - in their mother tongue. A joyous romp through the world of words letters stories and meanings Every Word Is a Bird We Teach to Sing explores the way communication shapes reality. From the art of translation to the lyricism of sign language these essays display the stunning range of Tammets literary and polyglot talents.