Language A to Z

By: John McWhorter, The Great Courses

Narrated by: John McWhorter

Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Linguistics, the study of language, has a reputation for being complex and inaccessible. But here's a secret: There's a lot that's quirky and intriguing about how human language works-and much of it is downright fun to learn about. But with so many potential avenues of exploration, it can often seem daunting to try to understand it. Where does one even start?

In these twenty-four 15-minute lectures by one of the best-known popularizes of language, you'll discover a delightful way to get accessible, bite-sized introductions to language. Using the English alphabet as a unique, offbeat way to approach the subject, Professor McWhorter has crafted a hopscotch tour of some of the field's major topics, hot-button issues, and more.

You'll learn why it can actually be OK to use slang like "LOL." Why English speakers don't use words like "thou" and "thee" anymore. What makes "mama" and "papa" a child's first words-in many languages. How popular rhymes like "Eeny, meeny, miney, moe") actually derive from the words for numbers in an early relative of Welsh. Why "like" is here to stay in common American speech. And much more.

These and other fascinating topics are all delivered in Professor McWhorter's light-hearted yet informative teaching style, which makes this series essential for anyone looking for a welcoming window into the quirks, curiosities, and intricacies of how language works. Filled with humor, whimsy, and no shortage of insights, it's a fast-paced tour of the same territory linguists tread each and every day.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2012 The Great Courses (P)2012 The Teaching Company, LLC

Gobsmacked!

Now this is something fun and different from the venerable "Great Courses." I love them, but they tend to be considerably longer and more scholarly than "Language A to Z".

Not that Professor McWhorter doesn't know his stuff. He is a speaker who helps put the "great" in these courses! I've listened to more than one of his audios and really respect his knowledge and teaching ability.

Whether or not you are interested in linguistics, I would recommend listening to this course. It goes by in a minute (every lecture is only 15 of them!), and there's lots of pop culture references and interesting revelations about the origins of some of our strangest sayings.

This is a great highway listen - and an enjoyable way to learn something in 15 minutes!

A lecture series as entertainment

This is an interesting topic read by a skilled lecturer. No bad stuff happens in it - you won't cry, although you might laugh - and you can forget about politics and global warming and warfare for awhile - and just learn about something that evolves naturally - language. Each lecture is 15 minutes long, so there are no great demands on your time if you can only listen in bits and pieces. Well worth the credit.

Trival Pursuit: Language Edition. Loved it!

A quick introduction to the evolution of languages. Fun and fascinating. Definitely going to pick up some more McWhorter. He was a great lecturer/narrator, and the information was almost as much fun as he was.

Wow

Fun, entertaining and very interesting. Heroes a good job at communicating his thoughts and ideas. It's my first book on linguistics so for those more versed in the area you may find it to be very basic. However I absolutely loved it and would enjoy hearing more about linguistics.

Entertaining and Interesting

If you could sum up Language A to Z in three words, what would they be?

Engrossing. Entertaining. Appetite-rousing.

What other book might you compare Language A to Z to and why?

I know of no books or lectures like this collection.

What about Professor John McWhorter’s performance did you like?

Prof McWhorter is fun and entertaining. He has a playful personality and his passion for the subject makes a great subject all the more riveting.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If only I could have!

Any additional comments?

A lot of fun tidbits, not enough in-depth detail. Too short. Could have easily been three or four times as long and I might still want more. Extremely interesting. I will be re-listening at least once.

Just Swell!

That is, to use a term that I learned has almost dropped out of our language to describe something good. So many tidbits of interesting information. What it made me realize is the huge difference between spoken and written language and the relationships between languages that you wouldn't suspect. For instance Maltese, which apparently sounds very much like Italian and uses some Italian words, is more closely related to Arabic, though it uses the Latin alphabet.

As others have noted, this does move very fast and I would probably have to listen again if there were a final exam and I wanted to pass the course. Fortunately, Audible does not have final exams! I may listen again anyway.

Outstanding!

What made the experience of listening to Language A to Z the most enjoyable?

John McWorter is a brilliant linguist and a positively riveting lecturer.

Who was your favorite character and why?

His knowledge is encyclopedic.

Which scene was your favorite?

He is witty and very hip.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There isn't a dull moment in the entire series.

Any additional comments?

Bravo!

Way funnier than expected!

The narrator is a funny guy! It was a delightful listen and truly interesting. I have learned quite much from it.

Amazingly informative

Professor McWhorter makes learning about a subject like language so informative and enjoyable. Something I never expected or thought I would say about a course on language

Fun intro to linguistics topics

Great lecturer -- funny, interesting. Worked completely fine as an audio.

I didn’t think I was particularly interested in linguistics but absolutely enjoyed this lecture series, so I would recommend it to any Great Courses fan. It was episodic – more like a podcast – rather than a systematic look at linguistics. In some ways, though, that made it better for listening while commuting, since each topic was well-contained.