5 out of 5 stars *****
Fascinating, educational, and comprehensive describe this work by John McWhorter, The Story of Human Language.The content is so extensive that one needs to pay close attention when listening to grasp all the nuances along the trails and adventures of human culture responsible for the varied languages in the world today.
In this course one learns how quickly language changes over the course of distance and time. New languages crop up from groups of people who expand and settle in regions with a certain language and eventually alter that language in sound because of slang or laziness - it doesn't matter - to form a dialect; it becomes specific for this social group. Dialects are further altered with the introduction of new people into that region with their own languages and dialects. A blend of two or more languages can borrow from one another and in a very short time in history, a different sounding language develops. McWhorter explains how and why diverse groups would come together besides exploration; conquest and slavery are two examples.
Now a region can have new cultures and subcultures within its society and with that comes their street language, which is not a real language but a Pidgin language. Again, over time, cultural influences blend and language may be the first sign of their influences. When a language comes out of pseudo-languages and develops rules which apply to that language and for that region it may be a Creole. This reader learns that Creole is not just one language but a blend of languages that differ from one another depending upon their influences and regions of the world.
As new languages develop, old languages die. This occurs within one culture. English, for example, has Old English, which if heard might sound a bit incomprehensible today. The study of language does allow one to trace ancestral cultures and from whence that culture derives. The author alludes to the fact that when a language dies, that culture also dies. That being said, if a language changes, the culture changes.
This course makes this student realize that there is not a wrong way of saying something, just a different way. One learns the written rules of language and that slows the rate of change. Written language did not exist for most of mankind's existence. Communication via language develops early with mankind and, most certainly, undergoes many changes unhindered by correction from a controlling society who writes the rules. There are those who develop a language meant for global communication but they are, now, just another language with a set of rules spoken by those who wish to learn the arcane labors of an individual. Such languages are not spoken by any society in any region of the world.
There is much more in this course that one may discover about language and, in doing so, learn about cultures of the world. Communication comes in many forms. The Internet shrinks the world and communication with other cultures around it is not just speaking via video or written using text. Texting, itself, is developing its own shortcuts and pseudo-language, some of which is already accepted in dictionaries of the world. The internet opens up languages of icons, emoji's, gifs, etc. This language is pictorial and assimilates easily with varying cultures.
This reader believes that a worldwide language may come from this technological, or tech, industry. It is as if communication is out of the hands of those who desire control and are uneasy with change. Language tells mankind's story of who we are and indicates where we are going. It is a fascinating field to observe and about which to learn.
I was going to write, "It is a fascinating field to observe and to learn about", but that would break the rules - God forbid, I end a sentence in a preposition.
In this course one learns how quickly language changes over the course of distance and time. New languages crop up from groups of people who expand and settle in regions with a certain language and eventually alter that language in sound because of slang or laziness - it doesn't matter - to form a dialect; it becomes specific for this social group. Dialects are further altered with the introduction of new people into that region with their own languages and dialects. A blend of two or more languages can borrow from one another and in a very short time in history, a different sounding language develops. McWhorter explains how and why diverse groups would come together besides exploration; conquest and slavery are two examples.
Now a region can have new cultures and subcultures within its society and with that comes their street language, which is not a real language but a Pidgin language. Again, over time, cultural influences blend and language may be the first sign of their influences. When a language comes out of pseudo-languages and develops rules which apply to that language and for that region it may be a Creole. This reader learns that Creole is not just one language but a blend of languages that differ from one another depending upon their influences and regions of the world.
As new languages develop, old languages die. This occurs within one culture. English, for example, has Old English, which if heard might sound a bit incomprehensible today. The study of language does allow one to trace ancestral cultures and from whence that culture derives. The author alludes to the fact that when a language dies, that culture also dies. That being said, if a language changes, the culture changes.
This course makes this student realize that there is not a wrong way of saying something, just a different way. One learns the written rules of language and that slows the rate of change. Written language did not exist for most of mankind's existence. Communication via language develops early with mankind and, most certainly, undergoes many changes unhindered by correction from a controlling society who writes the rules. There are those who develop a language meant for global communication but they are, now, just another language with a set of rules spoken by those who wish to learn the arcane labors of an individual. Such languages are not spoken by any society in any region of the world.
There is much more in this course that one may discover about language and, in doing so, learn about cultures of the world. Communication comes in many forms. The Internet shrinks the world and communication with other cultures around it is not just speaking via video or written using text. Texting, itself, is developing its own shortcuts and pseudo-language, some of which is already accepted in dictionaries of the world. The internet opens up languages of icons, emoji's, gifs, etc. This language is pictorial and assimilates easily with varying cultures.
This reader believes that a worldwide language may come from this technological, or tech, industry. It is as if communication is out of the hands of those who desire control and are uneasy with change. Language tells mankind's story of who we are and indicates where we are going. It is a fascinating field to observe and about which to learn.
I was going to write, "It is a fascinating field to observe and to learn about", but that would break the rules - God forbid, I end a sentence in a preposition.
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