Bastard Tongues is an exciting, firsthand story of scientific discovery in an area of research close to the heart of what it means to be human—what language is, how it works, and how it passes from generation to generation, even where historical accidents have made normal transmission almost impossible. The story focuses on languages so low in the pecking order that many people don't regard them as languages at all—Creole languages spoken by descendants of slaves and indentured laborers in plantation colonies all over the world. The story is told by Derek Bickerton, who has spent more than thirty years researching these languages on four continents and developing a controversial theory that explains why they are so similar to one another. A published novelist, Bickerton (once described as "part scholar, part swashbuckling man of action") does not present his findings in the usual dry academic manner. Instead, you become a companion on his journey of discovery. You learn things as he learned them, share his disappointments and triumphs, explore the exotic locales where he worked, and meet the colorful characters he encountered along the way. The result is a unique blend of memoir, travelogue, history, and linguistics primer, appealing to anyone who has ever wondered how languages grow or what it's like to search the world for new knowledge. BUY THE BOOK Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million Book Sense   "Bastard Tongues is gossipy, vain and pugilistic—in other words, all the juicy things an academic memoir should be but too rarely is..."    —The New York Times (read the full review here) "Bickerton has made transformative discoveries about the way we acquire language... The book is part memoir, part intellectual detective story and part linguistics primer. Bickerton is a spirited, clever writer, and the tripartite nature of the narrative suits him..."    —Los Angeles Times (read the full review here) "A fascinating memoir from one of the most innovative and literate linguists of our age."    —Steven Pinker "There is nothing dry about linguistics when Derek is telling the story. It's a delight to read."    —William Calvin "Bastard Tongues combines an intellectual detective story, a disarmingly frank autobiography, and a tale of adventures in exotic places."    —Melvin Konner "Bickerton bar-hops through some of the world's most exotic locations and languages, to crack one of the deepest mysteries of language."    —Christine Keneally "Language lovers will exult in his linguistic insights, but everyone will delight in the surprising twists and turns of his global quest."    —Deborah Tannen "This chatty, humorous memoir, laced with lucid analyses... explores the miraculous human capacity for language and how the emergence of creole languages 'represents a triumph of... the human spirit'."    —Publishers Weekly "Bickerton's account of his travels fuses the excitement of travel literature with the substance of groundbreaking linguistics. A bold new perspective on human speech."    —Bryce Christensen, Booklist