The Story of Human Language
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The Story of Human Language
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Narrated by:
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John McWhorter
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Written by:
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John McWhorter
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The Great Courses
About this listen
Language defines us as a species, placing humans head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators. But it also beguiles us with its endless mysteries, allowing us to ponder why different languages emerged, why there isn't simply a single language, how languages change over time and whether that's good or bad, and how languages die out and become extinct. Now you can explore all of these questions and more in an in-depth series of 36 lectures from one of America's leading linguists.
You'll be witness to the development of human language, learning how a single tongue spoken 150,000 years ago evolved into the estimated 6,000 languages used around the world today and gaining an appreciation of the remarkable ways in which one language sheds light on another.
The many fascinating topics you examine in these lectures include: the intriguing evidence that links a specific gene to the ability to use language; the specific mechanisms responsible for language change; language families and the heated debate over the first language; the phenomenon of language mixture; why some languages develop more grammatical machinery than they actually need; the famous hypothesis that says our grammars channel how we think; artificial languages, including Esperanto and sign languages for the deaf; and how word histories reflect the phenomena of language change and mixture worldwide.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
©2004 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2004 The Great CoursesYou may also enjoy...
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 130
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 112
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 111
Professor John McWhorter of Columbia University takes you back through time and around the world, following the linguistic trails left by generations of humans that lead back to the beginnings of language. Utilizing historical theories and cutting-edge research, these 34 astonishing lectures will introduce you to the major language families of the world and their many offspring, including a variety of languages that are no longer spoken but provide vital links between past and present.
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Lecturer is quite a character!
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The Theory of Everything: The Quest to Explain All Reality
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- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 121
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 106
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Written by: Don Lincoln, and others
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Ancient Civilizations of North America
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- Narrated by: Edwin Barnhart
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- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 150
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 130
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 129
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3 out of 5 stars
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Most of Canada is left out, as usual
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 8
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 6
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 80
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 71
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Story5 out of 5 stars 71
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent and well written
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Written by: Gary W. Gallagher, and others
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Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior
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- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 164
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 144
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 141
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1 out of 5 stars
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What listeners say about The Story of Human Language
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Avid
- 2019-05-23
Astounding
Professor McWhorter is now my favorite TTC lecturer. He is funny and organized, and his knowledge of linguistics and culture is very wide. I highly recommend this lecture series.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- dylan nicholson
- 2018-09-14
History of language explained
this book really has everything you would expect in a discussion about the history of language. its too bad my friends dont find it as fascinating as i do, i became a random fact machine for a little while as i point out little nuances in the everyday words we speak. needless to say, they were not impressed. #Audible1
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Catherine Obacz
- 2020-06-18
Thank you!
I very much enjoyed this course- all the little insights and humor (Canadian- humour). The course was very engaging.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Richard
- 2020-02-07
Very very interesting
I really enjoyed this course. John McWhorter was engaging and found a way of making what could be a very dry subject into a very interesting series of lectures. His sense of humor is sometimes a little quirky and in a few occasions he said thinks that may be perceived as politically incorrect but this is a minor point. I learned a lot in this course and hope to get a chance to find another course by Dr McWhorter in the future.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Sam Ehlers
- 2022-10-05
Wonderful
Profesor McWhorter delivers a captivating course. I loved every chapter. So well arranged, explained, and presented. My interest in languages has deepened. Thank you for this course.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 2020-09-04
Fun, engaging and educational!
Professor McWhorter makes learning about this subject very interesting — he’s a natural speaker, with great examples and an excellent sense of humour. My girlfriend and I would listen to it every morning on our way to work, and it was easily one of the best parts of our day.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Jayleen
- 2020-06-13
Great Lectures
John keeps the lectures interesting involving not just differences and structures of languages but also real life experiences of languages/Creoles/pigeons and instances of applications.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Bryan Young
- 2021-08-13
Linguistics can be fascinating!
Narrator was superb.
The topic would have been full without him... but he showed us to think about the origins and evolution of words and grammar
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Elena Sandu
- 2021-08-14
What an unexpected treat!
The book is well written and the author has wonderful humor that permeates this lovely collection. The information is concise and well organized and the reader (author) narrates very well. I recommend this book to anyone with a thirst for knowledge with a touch of anecdote.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 2023-10-23
Amazing!!
I would have never thought linguistics would be so fascinating but this lecture series was funny, eye-opening and a treat to listen to. It was fascinating to learn about the birth and death of language and how some language changes over time more then others.
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