In this wide-ranging introduction, Julia Kristeva presents the evolution and emergence of linguistics. For Kristeva, the object of linguistic investigation is not “What is language?” but rather “How can language be thought?” In a series of carefully documented analyses, she examines the links between philosophical speculation and linguistic practice. She traces postmodern linguistic theory back to its roots, using sources that range from Egyptian hieroglyphics, Mayan and Phoenician writings, and the Hebrew Bible to the Prague School of Structuralism. Thorough and far-reaching in its analysis, Language: The Unknown provides fascinating insights into the history of graphic cultures, philosophy, anthropology, and semiotics.

"[Kristeva's] graceful and lucid history of language ranges over vast intellectual territory—Egyptian hieroglyphs to psychoanalytic discourse, Crates of Mallos to Benveniste to Lévi-Strauss and Lacan. Guaranteed jargon-free." - Voice Literary Supplement

"Stimulating and eminently readable." - Signs