About this ebook
In The Leopard’s Spots, Gerrit J. Dimmendaal discusses the interaction between language, cognition, and culture in an African context with special focus on the cultural construction of meaning through language. Such constructions are constrained by our cognitive system, but leave lots of space for culture-specific interpretations and thereby for tremendous typological diversity between languages. This variation reflects the adaptive nature of human language in the same way that the spots of the leopard reflect selective advantages for its natural habitat. But whereas science has essentially one explanation for the rosettes of the leopard, the non-scientific mind may attach meaning to his or her cultural environment by way of language through a plethora of strategies.
In The Leopard’s Spots, Gerrit J. Dimmendaal discusses the interaction between language, cognition, and culture in an African context with special focus on the cultural construction of meaning through language. Such constructions are constrained by our cognitive system, but leave lots of space fo...
About the author
Gerrit J. Dimmendaal holds a Ph.D. in Arts from Leiden University, the Netherlands, and is Professor of African Studies at the University of Cologne, Germany. He has published monographs and articles on African languages belonging to three different phyla, Afroasiatic, Nilo-Saharan, and Niger-Congo.
Gerrit J. Dimmendaal holds a Ph.D. in Arts from Leiden University, the Netherlands, and is Professor of African Studies at the University of Cologne, Germany. He has published monographs and articles on African languages belonging to three different phyla, Afroasiatic, Nilo-Saharan, and Niger-Congo.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
