Posts Tagged ‘ Linguistics ’

How the Brain Thinks About Language

The human brain is hard-wired to learn and use human language. Any child can easily learn any language – no matter how difficult it is. And then use it flawlessly – without having any understanding of it at all. Why this is so has been baffling. But the discovery of an universal grammar, by Noam [ READ MORE ]

Code Switching

This posting is about Linguistics – which, as I have said before, many people absolutely hate - probably because language is such an integral part of being human. But let that go. I am taking a course from the Teaching Company about this, and the instructor, John McWhorter, is telling me more about Linguistics than I really [ READ MORE ]

Educated Language and the Less-Educated Kind

I am listening to a course on Linguistics by John McWhorter – to a lesson called How Class Defines Speech. It took me back to my childhood. Neither of my parents graduated from college: both had to drop out because of the Depression. But they were determined that their children would make it all the way – as [ READ MORE ]

The Apparent and the Real in Language

I am now taking the course Understanding Linguistics from the Teaching Company. I had read a book by Professor John McWhorter, and I wanted to know more, so I got the video class: 36 lectures, for only $99. Lecture Four is entitled: In the Head versus On the Lips. It is about the phonemic versus the phonetic [ READ MORE ]

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