This course explores the origins and intricacies of language through a series of engaging talks. Students will learn about the evolution of languages, the art of rhetoric, the importance of grammar, and the process of adding words to dictionaries. The course covers topics such as translation challenges, poetic patterns, speech acts, and the evolution of English. The intended audience for this course includes language enthusiasts, linguistics students, and anyone curious about the power and beauty of language.
Overview
Syllabus
Where do new words come from? - Marcel Danesi.
How to use rhetoric to get what you want - Camille A. Langston.
One of the most difficult words to translate... - Krystian Aparta.
How interpreters juggle two languages at once - Ewandro Magalhaes.
The pleasure of poetic pattern - David Silverstein.
Does grammar matter? - Andreea S. Calude.
How miscommunication happens (and how to avoid it) - Katherine Hampsten.
How did clouds get their names? - Richard Hamblyn.
How computers translate human language - Ioannis Papachimonas.
Buffalo buffalo buffalo: One-word sentences and how they work - Emma Bryce.
Where did English come from? - Claire Bowern.
Why Shakespeare loved iambic pentameter - David T. Freeman and Gregory Taylor.
The language of lying — Noah Zandan.
How languages evolve - Alex Gendler.
The true story of 'true' - Gina Cooke.
Speech acts: Constative and performative - Colleen Glenney Boggs.
Are Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki and Na'vi real languages? - John McWhorter.
Birth of a nickname - John McWhorter.
Shakespearean dating tips - Anthony John Peters.
A brief history of plural word...s - John McWhorter.
Why is there a "b" in doubt? - Gina Cooke.
How did English evolve? - Kate Gardoqui.
How can you change someone's mind? (hint: facts aren't always enough) - Hugo Mercier.
The race to decode a mysterious language - Susan Lupack.
"Jabberwocky": One of literature's best bits of nonsense.
What happens when you die? A poetic inquiry.
Why do we, like, hesitate when we, um, speak? - Lorenzo GarcÃa-Amaya.
How to get a word added to the dictionary - Ilan Stavans.
Taught by
TED-Ed
