5 September 2013
A clever video that makes an economic and social point on the value of work translators do:
Adding Twerk and Other Slang Words to "The Dictionary"
29 August 2013
How Many Languages?
22 August 2013
Podcast: Evolution of Language
26 July 2013
I listen to a lot of podcasts, and one that I regularly download is Desiree Schell’s Skeptically Speaking. It’s a weekly syndicated radio program out of Edmonton, Alberta that discusses a variety of topics related to science, the scientific method, and critical thinking.
Schell’s 19 July 2013 episode is on the evolution of language and features an interview with Noam Chomsky in which the MIT linguist explains his hypothesis of universal grammar, UC Berkeley anthropologist Terrence Deacon who dispute Chomsky’s claim that language is biologically and genetically based, and biologist Con Slobodchikoff, who discusses his work animal language.
If you’re interested but don’t know much about the topic, it’s well worth a listen. Those who have read widely on the subject, however, will probably not find much new.
Kemosabe
27 June 2013
With all the news coming out the Supreme Court yesterday, you may have missed this Slate article on the origin of the term Kemosabe, Tonto’s name for the Lone Ranger.
As usual, there’s no definitive origin, but several plausible theories.
