Download or read book The Spell of Language written by Thomas G. Pavel and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2001-12 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The "spell of language" for Pavel consists of three things: the promise that linguistics seemed to represent for the humanities and social sciences; the distortions, misunderstandings, and willful neglect incumbent upon the "linguistic turn"; and, above all, the break with traditional humanism.