Description:
Aristotle defined voice as: a particular sound made by something with a soul; for nothing which does not have a soul has a voice.
This book is not really a work of linguistics or phonetics because it is concerned less with what language actually is or how it works than with popular conceptions of what it is. From the moans, whimpers, and sobs of human grief, to the playful linguistic twisting of nonsense "Beyond Words" probes the fringes and limits of human language, and our definitions and notions of voice and meaning, to challenge our basic assumptions about what it is to communicate and where meaning lies in language. By engaging with the vocal sounds, utterances, and tics usually marginalized, trivialized, or ignored completely in phonetics and linguistics, this book presents the reader with a startling and fascinating new way to engage with language itself."
Brief description: Steven Connor is professor of English and director of research at the Digital Futures Institute, King's College London. He is the author of more than twenty books.
Review Quotes: "The functions and dysfunctions of vocal utterances are enjoyably treated here with full professional linguistic snap, crackle, and pop by a soul-searching connoisseur of the myths, beliefs, literature, history, and philosophy of spoken language."
-- "The Times"