The Story of Human Language

By: John McWhorter, The Great Courses

Narrated by: John McWhorter

Length: 18 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

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 Library section along with the audio.

©2004 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2004 The Great Courses

Engaging, witty, and deeply informative!

I've listened to several of the Great Courses, and this is, by far, the most intriguing and engaging course I've heard to this point. John McWhorter brings his vast knowledge of language, and more than a dash of dry, ironic humor to the course, giving the listener not only a deeper sense of the nature and structure of language, but a damn good time as well. Very informative and entertaining. I will look for more Great Courses by Dr. McWhorter.

Worth every minute

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend it to friends interested in understanding the natural processes involving languages evolution.

What did you like best about this story?

I was able to understand how languages develop, merge and branch and things like "a language is a dialect with an army and borders".

Which character – as performed by Professor John McWhorter – was your favorite?

The professor himself. His analogies with his own life and metaphors are great.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, many times I was surprised about how things got to be the way they are. My mother tongue is portuguese and I always wondered, for example, how it came to remain beautiful and "complicated" while english became this easy ugly language we all love to use.

Any additional comments?

I also read "Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths of Language Usage" also a great book. It is nice to read both, but they have a huge overlap but the former is english centric.

John McWhorter is amazing!

This is among the best of 'The Great Courses'. You'd never look at languages, accents and dialects the same way as you did before listening to this course. 'It is super interesting' is an understatement.

Mr.McWhorter has an enthusiastic and lively narration style and it engages you! I am an engineer who picked up this audiobook because the topic interested me and I have always been fascinated about how many languages are similar. After listening to this, I am a linguistics fan now. I have already started listening to another course on languages by Professor John.

The content is well structured, detailed and not just touching upon theoretical topics. Mr.McWhorter cites examples for everything that he's presenting and also presents both sides of the arguments on areas of contention.

Its a great listen!

Very interesting

Really enjoyed this audio, very informative, although a more history and perhaps some more phonetics
And little to say about modern English

Interesting material, great delivery

Language changes and evolutions are so interesting to me. John McWhorter is so knowledgeable and his voice is so upbeat and friendly. This course was very interesting.

Very Good

I've listened to a few of Professor McWhorter's lecture series and I really enjoy his style and presentation. He gives a tremendous amount of information in this lecture course so be prepared to learn, learn, learn.

Even for linguists, it’s great!

I eork in the field of Applied Linguistics, and this book has helped me review conceps and ideas, while enjoying the surhor’s erudition and playful sense of humor.
It gave me great ideas to teach my students about languages.

Fascinating & entertaining

The lecturer clearly knew his topic extremely well, and managed to share an incredible amount of information while keeping it approachable. His lectures were entertaining and engaging. He broadened the scope well beyond English and Indo-European languages, touching the course a great diverse perspective. I highly recommend to anyone interested in language!

Important lectures

What made the experience of listening to The Story of Human Language the most enjoyable?

It explained much of what I did not understand about language and its evolution. These new concepts will enable me to piece together my other historical interests and the complexities of ancient civilizations.

Any additional comments?

There are some points with which I do not totally agree. I believe there is more to animal languages than the professor (eg. songs of whales) and I would have been interested in hearing more thoughts about the written word (though that is a subject for an additional set of lectures). But this is excellent overall.

Fantastic introduction to understanding language

Exploring topics From animal "language" to the life cycle of human languages to invented languages, you will never look at language the same way again.