In the 1970s, the behavioral psychologist Herbert S. Terrace led a remarkable experiment to see if a chimpanzii "Nim Chimpsky" could be taught to use language. In this book, Terrace revisits Project Nim to offer a novel view of the origins of human language. In contrast to both Noam Chomsky and his critics, Terrace contends that words, as much as grammar, are the cornerstones of language.