I've just started reading The Stuff of Thought by Steven Pinker the noted cognitive scientist and linguistic expert. I've read most of his other books, some more thoroughly than others, and this one has re-awakened a longtime interest in language, I might even say it's his best yet.
The early part concentrates on whether humans have an innate sense of what things mean or is it acquired, the old nature versus nurture argument. That's not to say they are born knowing a specific vocabulary but do they have a sort of internal concept of words that is mapped onto the language that they actual learn in their first few years?
Later topics explore why children's names go in and out of fashion and why swearing involves sex, bodily functions and religious entities.
He explores in depth why you hear:
The dog bit John on the leg
but not
The dog bit the table on the leg
I am really finding it hard to put down, I could have been found reading it at 5:00am this morning, sad eh?
Anyway, as you can tell, I highly recommend it - a real bargain at about £5 from Amazon, and it assures Mr. Pinker of an invite to my hypothetical dinner party of interesting guests.
Two serious posts on the trot, I really must get out more.