Steven Pinker: Linguistics as a Window to Understanding the Brain | Big Think

In this lecture, Steven Pinker, renowned linguist and Harvard Psychology Professor, discusses linguistics as a window to understanding the human brain.
New videos DAILY: bigth.ink
Join Big Think Edge for exclusive video lessons from top thinkers and doers: bigth.ink/Edge
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How is it that human beings have come to acquire language? Steven Pinker's introduction to the field includes thoughts on the evolution of spoken language and the debate over the existence of an innate universal grammar, as well as an exploration of why language is such a fundamental part of social relationships, human biology, and human evolution. Finally, Pinker touches on the wide variety of applications for linguistics, from improving how we teach reading and writing to how we interpret law, politics, and literature.
Read the full transcript on: bigthink.com/videos/how-we-sp...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steven Pinker is an experimental psychologist who conducts research in visual cognition, psycholinguistics, and social relations. He grew up in Montreal and earned his BA from McGill and his PhD from Harvard. Currently Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard, he has also taught at Stanford and MIT. He has won numerous prizes for his research, his teaching, and his nine books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate, The Better Angels of Our Nature, The Sense of Style, and Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT BIG THINK:
Smarter Faster™
Big Think is the leading source of expert-driven, actionable, educational content. With thousands of videos, featuring experts ranging from Bill Clinton to Bill Nye, we help you get smarter, faster. ​Our experts are either disrupting or leading their respective fields-subscribe to learn from top minds like these daily.
We aim to help you explore the big ideas and core skills that define knowledge in the 21st century, so you can apply them to the questions and challenges in your own life.
Other Frequent contributors include Michio Kaku & Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
Michio Kaku Playlist: bigth.ink/Kaku
Bill Nye Playlist: bigth.ink/BillNye
Neil DeGrasse Tyson Playlist: bigth.ink/deGrasseTyson
Read more at bigthink.com for a multitude of articles just as informative and satisfying as our videos. New articles posted daily on a range of intellectual topics.
Join Big Think Edge, to gain access to an immense library of content. It features insight from many of the most celebrated and intelligent individuals in the world today. Topics on the platform are focused on: emotional intelligence, digital fluency, health and wellness, critical thinking, creativity, communication, career development, lifelong learning, management, problem solving & self-motivation.
BIG THINK EDGE: bigth.ink/Edge
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOLLOW BIG THINK:
📰BigThink.com: bigth.ink
🧔Facebook: bigth.ink/facebook
🐦Twitter: bigth.ink/twitter
📸Instagram: bigth.ink/Instragram
📹KZread: bigth.ink/youtube
✉ E-mail: info@bigthink.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIPT:
For more info on this video, including the full transcript, check out bigthink.com/big-think-edge/l...

Пікірлер: 3 000

  • @bigthink
    @bigthink4 жыл бұрын

    Want to get Smarter, Faster™? Subscribe for DAILY videos: bigth.ink/SmarterFaster

  • @aksb2482

    @aksb2482

    3 жыл бұрын

    The "Spanish (Latin America)" subtitles are in English for the last 6 minutes

  • @Isaias-wq7wu

    @Isaias-wq7wu

    3 жыл бұрын

    thank you 🙏🙏🙏

  • @maximilianbatz2070

    @maximilianbatz2070

    3 жыл бұрын

    Please get rid of the special effects, they are really distracting

  • @granmadave

    @granmadave

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@maximilianbatz2070 THANK YOU!!!! How bloody ironic is it that he talks about our ability to distinguish sounds while there's this incessant dog-training click going on in the background...

  • @johndunn7733

    @johndunn7733

    3 жыл бұрын

    ​@@granmadave great content. Superbly annoying sound effects

  • @RecordableID
    @RecordableID5 жыл бұрын

    It is also a miracle that I'm able to watch such a well designed lecture by a renowned professor liguistics on the internet FOR FREE! It's a great time to be alive.

  • @zksurvivor

    @zksurvivor

    5 жыл бұрын

    I know, right?!

  • @bestetass

    @bestetass

    4 жыл бұрын

    I wish all education system was on the internet for free! Paid by sponsors and such. An online, free enrollment with a schedule for who ever wants. Free books, access to everything free.. It is in the corner i guess. I can see that future.

  • @geico105

    @geico105

    4 жыл бұрын

    It's also a miracle that Bill Mahr is giving away the solutions to all our problems for FREE!

  • @samarittan9308

    @samarittan9308

    4 жыл бұрын

    I agree. The internet used for good!

  • @kenm2595

    @kenm2595

    3 жыл бұрын

    Too bad Trump is president :/

  • @Kapiwolf123
    @Kapiwolf1238 жыл бұрын

    there's something very pleasant in hearing Mr. Steven Pinker saying "he be workin"

  • @Ape717

    @Ape717

    6 жыл бұрын

    I feel exactly the same as you

  • @amandabayer495

    @amandabayer495

    5 жыл бұрын

    Wait until he talks about sex with Dr. Ruth

  • @MotokoBlaugrana

    @MotokoBlaugrana

    5 жыл бұрын

    I loved it!!!

  • @flubs4041

    @flubs4041

    4 жыл бұрын

    @D Kahn Please consider that some of your assumptions might be wrong

  • @briseboy

    @briseboy

    3 жыл бұрын

    Dottore.

  • @_GandalfTheGrey_
    @_GandalfTheGrey_ Жыл бұрын

    I majored in linguistics and although Dr. Pinker is not a pure linguist, he gives one of the best and most accessible descriptions of a brief overview of linguistics. Truly an amazing subject and it is such a disappointment that there are no linguistics classes in any high school in the world pretty much. A class in linguistics, even just a class in syntax, would help so many more people be able to learn new languages quickly and efficiently. Not just that, but more people would have a deep understanding of themselves and others.

  • @1995marixsa
    @1995marixsa3 жыл бұрын

    This lecture can never get old, this man is a king; I love how he express in detail and clearly.

  • @Philosophie21

    @Philosophie21

    3 жыл бұрын

    I love it too, but I hope that some ideas will have progressed in 20 years. Anyway, this thinker will remain precious and always interesting to study, even in 20 years and even if he may have been wrong in places.

  • @JulianPerez-zv6os

    @JulianPerez-zv6os

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yeah, king of being friends with Epstein

  • @fullyawakened
    @fullyawakened10 жыл бұрын

    Professor Pinker just made the entire history of linguistics seem like a 101 class. Nicely done.

  • @samghioto2056

    @samghioto2056

    4 жыл бұрын

    fullyawakened any he’s probably better than any of professor on this topic in his delivery

  • @Morghast

    @Morghast

    2 жыл бұрын

    Philology has entered the Chat

  • @Adhjie

    @Adhjie

    Жыл бұрын

    @@Morghast gotta bring back panini like nhk interview program about edo mathematics

  • @michaelabbet8920

    @michaelabbet8920

    Жыл бұрын

    What six minutes and he did not address the subject matter! You poor deluded fools, you just want to thank people society identity famous without thought. What's in your head Zombie? Stooges maybe

  • @Untefelehrr

    @Untefelehrr

    8 ай бұрын

    very far from the entire history of linguistics, ;), but it is a great overview of most of the distinct levels of analysis you have to subject language to if you want to understand it. I am just a bit disapointed that he didn't devote more time to semantics, which are so fundamental, but hey, this is a detail. His demonstration is clear, precise and attractive. Well done Prof

  • @khasab6124
    @khasab61248 жыл бұрын

    well I listened to the stream of noises Pinker made and i found them quite agreeable, so I thought I'd make some odd black marks in this box.

  • @litedaya7657

    @litedaya7657

    7 жыл бұрын

    lool

  • @TheEpicGene15

    @TheEpicGene15

    5 жыл бұрын

    If you break down language and written language like that it really does fuck with your mind

  • @TeaParty1776

    @TeaParty1776

    3 жыл бұрын

    @Neal Murfitt Your screen marks are noted.

  • @blsi4037

    @blsi4037

    3 жыл бұрын

    In looking at your random assemblage of black marks in the box, it caused me to spew out random comical noises in agreement.

  • @stephenpowstinger733

    @stephenpowstinger733

    3 жыл бұрын

    Sadly the marks are not black on white but white on black. Oh the humanity!

  • @GuyMichaely
    @GuyMichaely3 жыл бұрын

    Steven Pinker: "I'm actually not a linguist" Description: "Steven Pinker, renowned linguist..."

  • @ugprashanth

    @ugprashanth

    3 жыл бұрын

    Channel administrator:Hey you wouldn't believe what we do for click bait

  • @RainbowYak

    @RainbowYak

    3 жыл бұрын

    It's a bit fuzzy because Pinker originally studied Psychology but in recent years/decades, he has almost exclusively worked in the field of linguistics. I have myself studied linguistics and we were given several texts by Pinker to read. So, he doesn't just do this as a hobby, he actually researches and publishes academic papers in the field of linguistics.

  • @v.k.y.3526

    @v.k.y.3526

    3 жыл бұрын

    Agreed with rainbow

  • @agstinacueva1673

    @agstinacueva1673

    3 жыл бұрын

    cognitive psychology is a branch of linguistics

  • @hlicj

    @hlicj

    2 жыл бұрын

    and that illustrates how language works. (actually not = a kind of; in this case, a person with a different diploma) Now, stop thinking about elephants!

  • @barborahegedusova1180
    @barborahegedusova11803 жыл бұрын

    I can't appreciate enough how well structured this video is. It's so easy to understand concepts and connections among them.

  • @helimax
    @helimax9 жыл бұрын

    I love how clearly this man thinks. Its clarity layed gently onto silence. Like listening to a pure chime from one of those Tibetan buddhist singning bowls.

  • @lordemed1

    @lordemed1

    3 жыл бұрын

    the sign of true intelligence- the abilityto break ideas and concepts to their simplest forms. Einstein was the best, imho

  • @AndImOkayWithIt

    @AndImOkayWithIt

    2 жыл бұрын

    The sign of creative intelligence (inherent in the author of this comment @helimax): The ability to absorb specific concretized information, extrapolate upon it, integrate the latter with the former, resulting in the formation of an opinion, to then correlate it abstractively with sound, as a means to express that which is otherwise ineffable, yet is understood, PRECISELY THROUGH said abstraction. Ahh, the magic of art!! Well done!

  • @robinohara226

    @robinohara226

    2 жыл бұрын

    he clearly was not thinking very much when he went on epstien's plane over and over again

  • @pb4633

    @pb4633

    3 ай бұрын

    That is an excellent definition of art. The abstract idea or feeling you once felt or always thought ineffable, until it mysteriously arises from the page/canvass/screen like a long lost friend. @@AndImOkayWithIt

  • @whollyone9235
    @whollyone92357 жыл бұрын

    30 mins in and I'm just wondering if he's ever going to stand behind the podium

  • @xaxabogbart

    @xaxabogbart

    5 жыл бұрын

    Haha. And the remote control he's holding changed from a black one to an Apple TV remote controller. Maybe they had some technical issues and he bought a MacBook with him haha

  • @xaxabogbart

    @xaxabogbart

    5 жыл бұрын

    Oh, he switched remote again... hmm... odd.

  • @hudaunus363

    @hudaunus363

    5 жыл бұрын

    Haha. Don't Be Too much.🤣. But He is so good tho. Very clear explanation.😭

  • @compagniaelvira

    @compagniaelvira

    4 жыл бұрын

    Ahahahahah damn, you made my day

  • @kevincarrigan635

    @kevincarrigan635

    3 жыл бұрын

    Not likely Miss Moneypenny, me thinks it (podium) be only a theatrical prop, for this fillum.

  • @denheart5133
    @denheart51332 жыл бұрын

    This professor is really creative and productive to his presentation. He has a deep understanding on how language exists. I am amazed and inspired.

  • @jonahansen
    @jonahansen4 жыл бұрын

    Pinker is a great explainer. He comes up with fantastic examples for all his key but perhaps counterintuitive ideas and points. Love it.

  • @nateellenberger6043
    @nateellenberger60435 жыл бұрын

    I absolutely love the way Steven explains things in his lectures. He doesn't over express words that don't need to be to show his intelligence. Profess Pinker is a brilliant man and awesome teacher.

  • @Sarvebhavntusukhinah1111

    @Sarvebhavntusukhinah1111

    4 ай бұрын

    1:21 1:21

  • @pb4633

    @pb4633

    3 ай бұрын

    An essential trait of mastering your craft is being able to teach the vastness of its content, with all its intrinsic and numerous permutations and exceptions, in simple language to the layman or apprentice. It shows a deep level of knowledge synthesis and understanding in that discipline. Someone who has not mastered their craft are not intrinsically good teachers - at least for STEM careers. I have noticed an easy "tell" (poker) is when a student asks them an unusual or lateral but valid question and they either brush it off like a politician would "I'll answer questions at the end of the lecture" (when the asker has conveniently forgotten it or now just wants to go home) or over-simplifying/altering the proposed question to make it easier to answer. Hence the term "master and apprentice". Masters by definition must always be able to effectively teach.

  • @TopHatKitty
    @TopHatKitty8 жыл бұрын

    I want to be this man when I grow up.

  • @DemHighTimes

    @DemHighTimes

    7 жыл бұрын

    I pretend he is Lenard Hofstadter while he talks :b

  • @robertcarlson6252

    @robertcarlson6252

    7 жыл бұрын

    The dumbing down of America has been completed. In a few short weeks, the morons will be running the country and anyone deemed to be "too smart" will be subject to ridicule and/or physical harm, just like back in sixth grade. Instead of trolling comments on instructive videos that are beyond your intellectual abilities, Kevin, why don't you just apply to be Trump's Secretary of State?

  • @samad.chouihat4222

    @samad.chouihat4222

    7 жыл бұрын

    u can't . It is not something to be acquired! . it's a Gift

  • @gwinocour

    @gwinocour

    7 жыл бұрын

    TopHatKi

  • @DivineBanana

    @DivineBanana

    7 жыл бұрын

    start growing out your hair now

  • @mathewandmarleny
    @mathewandmarleny Жыл бұрын

    Incredibly well done. He figured out how to present the full breadth of the subject in less than an hour by using stunning examples at each stage to effectively drive every point home with no need for further explanation. Even managed to fit in humorous visuals and audios to keep it entertaining. I was glad to see it was captioned too (though the caption breaks were odd at times, perhaps a result of editing KZread's auto captions as opposed to getting it properly captioned from scratch). So glad a friend thought to share this with me!

  • @mikewazowski7024
    @mikewazowski70242 жыл бұрын

    I got assigned to watch this video as a project in school, but i'm finding it genuinly interesting! Narration was clear and efficient. Good stuff👍

  • @Randolphsw
    @Randolphsw7 жыл бұрын

    When I watch something like this, it kills me. I was taught in a, 'just learn it' environment. Not in an, exploratory arena. This vid (Imo) is a fantastic example of how we should learn.

  • @rialeduc6658

    @rialeduc6658

    7 жыл бұрын

    u got fb?

  • @RaxLakhani

    @RaxLakhani

    2 жыл бұрын

    100 percent! Engagement is the key to learning. Picking up a textbook can be pretty intimidating for some people, but videos like these have the ability to spark a level of understanding which leads people (like me) to explore a topic in much more detail.

  • @iphoneusdsd
    @iphoneusdsd7 жыл бұрын

    Learned more from this video than all of semester lectures...

  • @simetry6477

    @simetry6477

    6 жыл бұрын

    iphoneusdsd where did you study?

  • @cgenovesi1503

    @cgenovesi1503

    6 жыл бұрын

    Everest college

  • @kyleserrecchia5300

    @kyleserrecchia5300

    6 жыл бұрын

    Damn really? I learned pretty much all of this in a single semester 100 level intro linguistics course at my local community college.

  • @MaximQuantum
    @MaximQuantum2 жыл бұрын

    Most of us, including me, don’t value enough the fact that so much information is shared on the internet for free! I just watch them for entertainment without realising how much I’ve actually learnt, and how much more I could have learnt with a more educational mindset. Thank you!

  • @MrMizahell
    @MrMizahell3 жыл бұрын

    Gratitude to the team, included Mr. Pinker, for the production and sharing of this amazing lecture.

  • @preflex3502
    @preflex35025 жыл бұрын

    The probability of "green ideas" being uttered has increased greatly since "Green" became associated with environmentalism and specific political philosophies.

  • @lilmane1070

    @lilmane1070

    3 жыл бұрын

    Agreed

  • @Rose-yt5hi

    @Rose-yt5hi

    3 жыл бұрын

    And a lot of those ideas can be figuratively colorless. Ha ha

  • @cloviskersey9739

    @cloviskersey9739

    3 жыл бұрын

    Andrew Marvell - The Garden - Annihilating all that's made, To a Green Thought in a Green Shade

  • @kevincarrigan635

    @kevincarrigan635

    3 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for noticing & noting that......It may not be the flesh of his meaning, rather the spirit....

  • @elisabethseaton6521

    @elisabethseaton6521

    2 жыл бұрын

    Which proves one of his points beautifully, that language is a constantly developing thing.

  • @wjckc79
    @wjckc797 жыл бұрын

    This is excellent. Structural linguistics is my favourite subject. I will be going back over this while taking notes to fill in the many blanks I am discovering. This video will influence future book purchases.

  • @sigitaskrebena9731
    @sigitaskrebena9731 Жыл бұрын

    As a translator and language enthusiast I found this VERY fascinating! So glad I found this video!

  • @wraitlito
    @wraitlito3 жыл бұрын

    I love listening Mr Pinker. Always seems so evident and even when I do not agree I find reasons to reflect on my previous beliefs

  • @SolusBatty
    @SolusBatty9 жыл бұрын

    We live in a great age, Big Think and free and quick exchange of information is just amazing. To have,in this instance, 30 years of (basic) knowledge of linguistics summarized in an hour long video, truly spectacular. :) You have my thanks.

  • @wilfredmorin8688
    @wilfredmorin86885 жыл бұрын

    This is the most thorough discussion of the subject of language I have ever heard/read. Amazing!

  • @TeresaGonzalez-jt9mv
    @TeresaGonzalez-jt9mv3 жыл бұрын

    Maravillosa síntesis de la teoría lingüística! El ejemplo del bebé es muy bueno. Un niño que solo balbucea puede indicar con el dedo algo que quiere, emitir un sonido que aún no es lengua y expresar un deseo, antes de ser capaz de usar una oración completa y con sentido: un tipo de pensamiento, que ya discrimina la realidad, pero no en palabras. Muy buen video. Que suerte tienen algunos de ustedes que lo tuvieron de profesor

  • @superscion8108
    @superscion81083 жыл бұрын

    Thank you, "Big Think" for sharing that here on your channel ---- and thank you most especially, Professor Steven Pinker. That was a most interesting, well thought and delivered presentation on language: its value to us all to communicate, and a means to help us understand the workings of the human brain. :)

  • @badarock177
    @badarock1775 жыл бұрын

    This was truly awesome. It flows. Very well constructed. My first language is Portugese but I could understant everything and relate to the content. Beautiful. I'll watch it again in the future. The more I learn, the more I can teach. Thank you so much.

  • @zalxder
    @zalxder10 жыл бұрын

    one of the most fascinating lectures I have heard in my entire life, I thank you

  • @thantalus77
    @thantalus773 жыл бұрын

    I studied linguistics back in the eighties before moving into political science and economics. I loved this lecture.

  • @milannovotny6575
    @milannovotny65753 жыл бұрын

    Best video I've seen in a while! Extremely well structured and conveyed in an engaging and entertaining manner.

  • @milo8175
    @milo81758 жыл бұрын

    He be workin!

  • @alvisc2002

    @alvisc2002

    8 жыл бұрын

    +Milo I think Pinker makes a powerful statement about overt conservative racism vs covert liberal racism here. by his definition of ebonics and how it is the cultural norm of black society he shows us that covert racism is more acceptable. and that socially engineering a culture to kill itself is more accepted than killing that culture directly. also by criticizing covert racism, you as an individual can be marginalized as a racist. or in the case that you're black, marginalized and ostracized as an "uncle tom" note how he uses linguistics to link "ebonics" to "african americans"

  • @milo8175

    @milo8175

    8 жыл бұрын

    +alvisc2002 Okay, let me begin by saying that I earned a bachelor's degree in Sociology from San Diego State University. I am extremely familiar with overt/covert racism and I always love a good race conversation. So, I made that comment, not to criticize covert racism, but rather, to highlight how funny and awkward Mr. Pinker sounds. Simple humor, nothing more(I understand that this is hard to interpret via the comment section on KZread). Now, for the more important issue at hand, what in the WORLD are you talking about? Could Mr. Pinker's comments be considered as covert racism? Absolutely. Associating bad grammar and spelling with a certain ethnic group, with such normality, is definitely along those lines. Merriam-Webster defines racism as: 1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race 2 : racial prejudice or discrimination www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racism I personally prefer the second definition, as I feel it is more accurate. Racism is racism. It can be overt and it can be covert. It is a negative ideal that has greatly affected the world around us. I chuckle when others use the words "conservative" and "liberal", because those two words have been so derived of content over the last couple of decades. Hardly anyone knows what those words mean nowadays. What I have learned in life, coming from a low income neighborhood and going on to complete my degree, is that the dollar has brought racism to our world. Amongst many other things such as war, incarceration, and murder. +alvisc2002, I truly wish that you, and others would see it that way. However, I understand that we all come from different backgrounds, and that the current system has actually worked well for some of us. The fact that you use the words "conservative" and "liberal" leads me to believe that you will not make the connection between money and racism. So, rather than try to convince you, I'll ask you a simple question. Can you please define the terms "overt conservative racism", and "covert liberal racism"? I did not know there was such a thing.

  • @milo8175

    @milo8175

    8 жыл бұрын

    Exactly!

  • @misse1228

    @misse1228

    8 жыл бұрын

    +Milo He definitely wasn't saying that "black english" (African American Vernacular English) is improper... He was saying the complete opposite. So I don't get how you think that he's being covertly racist.

  • @milo8175

    @milo8175

    8 жыл бұрын

    +Miss E I agree with you. His message was that language is ever changing and that if a word or phrase is accepted and understood we might alter what we deem appropriate. However, not all black people say "he be workin". Additionally, I had nothing to say on the topic of overt/covert racism until our buddy +alvisc2002 starting making up terms(overt conservative racism, and covert liberal racism). +Miss E, here's the thing. Covert racism is so subtle that you hardly recognize it when it happens. That's why it is referred to as covert. Covertly, Mr. Pinker, associates the phrase "he be workin" with the African American community. When in fact, not every member uses this phrase, and people of other ethnicities(including white) use this phrase. That can be interpreted as covert racism, but I'm positive that this was not his intention. Again, +Miss E, I had nothing to say on the subject of overt/covert racism until I read the ridiculous phrases "overt conservative racism" and "covert liberal racism". I am in agreement with you. The reason why I commented "exactly" is because I asked +alvisc2002 to define those phrases for me and he/she didn't. I wonder how long we will continue this dialogue.

  • @hamnchee
    @hamnchee6 жыл бұрын

    "The sounds a guy makes when he exhales" Apparently Pinker has not yet discovered inward singing, the greatest tool in singing technology since yodeling, dude.

  • @zksurvivor

    @zksurvivor

    5 жыл бұрын

    other cognitive scientists are only speaking half the time! The other half of the time they're breathing...in!

  • @IITaDHGdALToNII

    @IITaDHGdALToNII

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@zksurvivor ..but not anymore baby!

  • @TheQuantixXx
    @TheQuantixXx4 жыл бұрын

    the sound designer went all in for this video :D

  • @thirdworldperspective2409
    @thirdworldperspective24093 жыл бұрын

    He expresses himself very well... It feels pleasurable to hear him speak.

  • @MrBlues113
    @MrBlues1135 жыл бұрын

    Plus 1 million views, *recovers faith in humanity*

  • @luna-oq1up
    @luna-oq1up2 жыл бұрын

    look who's going to back to this video again and again and again? that's me. I loved it! honestly, it was fruitful more than the linguistic course I had in my university -.- everything that I couldn't understand professor Pinker said it in a simple and comprehensive way.

  • @gracevalentine1666
    @gracevalentine16662 жыл бұрын

    Thank you, my linguistics BA and MA, 1996 SDSU, seem more like cognitive science degrees when I listen to this wonderful talk. I feel like I missed the boat and never found my tribe. I taught English in the prescriptivist hell of high school language arts for 20+ years. I got called crazy a lot.🤓

  • @StephenWebb1980
    @StephenWebb19807 жыл бұрын

    What I find fascinating regarding linguistics as a computer programmer is how we can use assembly mnemonics and the language syntax to control the flow of electricity in a computers components. Here we find that language has mathematical properties.

  • @quality6823
    @quality68236 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for a great work. I could listen to you for ages without getting tired.

  • @joel9229m
    @joel9229mАй бұрын

    You are already legendary. You discussed with Fodor and Chomsky and demonstrated that human people have the necessity of speaking, like socializing

  • @AlexSage
    @AlexSage3 жыл бұрын

    I used to study The Great Cources, In average they had about 30 lectures per course. This style of teaching, a whole subject within a lecture feels dense but time saving!

  • @zeromailss
    @zeromailss5 жыл бұрын

    This kind of quality videos is what I'm subscribed for I can't help but keep nodding whenever he said something XD to be able to explain such a complex concept to a layman like me is a great feat

  • @saraw7477
    @saraw74774 жыл бұрын

    Such an insightful lecture. I am very grateful and thankful for having Prof. Pinker in KZread.

  • @saraw7477

    @saraw7477

    4 жыл бұрын

    An amazing era to enjoy the enlightenment from a great mind.

  • @jennrudd1679
    @jennrudd16794 жыл бұрын

    This is really good. If you want to have an overview of Linguistics that is brilliant and entertaining...this is what you should watch.

  • @rendorwilliams9116
    @rendorwilliams91163 жыл бұрын

    That was quite wonderful ! I believe that the concepts exist within the mind, first, and then we have to look for around for what-is-the-word, that other people use, to describe that concept.

  • @adilzade3022
    @adilzade3022 Жыл бұрын

    In 11 years of school I hadn't had a class as informative as this.

  • @pb4633

    @pb4633

    3 ай бұрын

    Agreed. I wish I had access to the numerous thought provoking online lectures during my school years. Albeit the double edge sword for the new generations though, with infinite knowledge comes infinite distractions. Unfortunately human nature (especially children) is like electricity, it prefers the path of least resistance to the "perceived" reward.

  • @Fnargl99
    @Fnargl997 жыл бұрын

    I'd call language the most successful meme.

  • @charlesrecchia5279
    @charlesrecchia52792 жыл бұрын

    love his unintentional neologism "stounds" at 4:32 combining 'stands' with 'sounds'

  • @masudtv
    @masudtv2 жыл бұрын

    This is one of the most interesting and informative things that I’ve seen on something we take for granted.

  • @elkiness
    @elkiness6 жыл бұрын

    Excellent, thank you, Steven Pinker! At 71, it's nice to pick up on a subject that interests me very much, but never studied. Interesting how this instantly available, free, attractive and beautifully organized lecture is so satisfying. And I can save it and watch again. I've ordered one of your books and will enjoy it more being able to visualize you speaking.

  • @martawatermanfitnesscoach
    @martawatermanfitnesscoach2 жыл бұрын

    I have been fascinated by language and how we speak for a long time. I love studying other languages to see the difference in rules of grammar as well as words. I have studied Mandarin for years and have become aware of a vastly different way of expression with different grammatical rules. Even French and Italian, though more closely related to English, have their own uniqueness.

  • @Untefelehrr

    @Untefelehrr

    8 ай бұрын

    Mandarin is such an interesting language :) . It is part of the rather few "equipolently framed languages"

  • @Sarvebhavntusukhinah1111

    @Sarvebhavntusukhinah1111

    4 ай бұрын

    Very interesting session sir.

  • @yadhamin
    @yadhamin2 жыл бұрын

    I feel internally at peace having spent 50 minutes in such an awesome lecture.

  • @swarnadipchatterjee
    @swarnadipchatterjee Жыл бұрын

    This is the best, the most comprehensive and the most effective summary on"language" available over the internet!

  • @gilhernan
    @gilhernan9 жыл бұрын

    Absolutely wonderful and enriching! Greetings from Costa Rica!

  • @hksalsatom
    @hksalsatom8 жыл бұрын

    Very good explanation of language from the perspective of cognitive science. I'm picking cognitive linguistics as my future study goal. Thank you Prof. Pinker.

  • @anyways3271
    @anyways32712 жыл бұрын

    Thank you sir! I am not sure if it is just me but I find this man' s voice very very pleasing to hear. He is so good at explaining. Thank you again

  • @Untefelehrr
    @Untefelehrr8 ай бұрын

    So much passion, and mastery. As a Phd student in language sciences I am deeply inspired by this, not so much because of the content, which is not new to me, but because of how he put things so well together so as to demonstrate both the complexity of language, and the window language opens on human condition.

  • @saeidzare3103

    @saeidzare3103

    4 ай бұрын

    Steven pinker said that studying language is useful for learning and understanding the foreign languages Could you tell me more about it or refer something to read ?

  • @Untefelehrr

    @Untefelehrr

    4 ай бұрын

    by "studying languages" do you mean "doing linguistics" ? Or something else ? I am not familiar with that take from Pinker so I would need more context.@@saeidzare3103

  • @pb4633

    @pb4633

    3 ай бұрын

    I would be interested too. Even a name of a textbook would suffice.@@saeidzare3103

  • @RyanJohnson
    @RyanJohnson10 жыл бұрын

    I love the examples at 11:45 - "What's up in the hizzy?"

  • @josephshawa
    @josephshawa7 жыл бұрын

    I felt wildly informed after this one - beyond anything I've yet seen and I've seen sooo many great informative videos on physics, religion, etc.

  • @rialeduc6658

    @rialeduc6658

    7 жыл бұрын

    same u got fb 👍?

  • @potatopinappleman
    @potatopinappleman Жыл бұрын

    This lecture is amazing - it conveys meaning so simply, whilst also helping further the listeners understanding regardless of their level of linguistic study.

  • @titusemilius9936
    @titusemilius99363 жыл бұрын

    I love reading his books and he speak so clear, easy to understand

  • @72daystar
    @72daystar9 жыл бұрын

    The makeup artist appears to have worked in Opera previously.

  • @brujeriadiosa

    @brujeriadiosa

    9 жыл бұрын

    72daystar as someone who also had premature gray thrust upon them...our skin colour had remained the same. lol they didn't use HD makeup foundation on him. this is the result.

  • @dlwatib

    @dlwatib

    8 жыл бұрын

    72daystar It's actually the lighting. It's too blue and needs to be warmed up with some yellow, orange or red.

  • @sabirali7110

    @sabirali7110

    8 жыл бұрын

    Yatty Yat ayllw

  • @ianpatton632

    @ianpatton632

    7 жыл бұрын

    ha thanks for pointing that out - hilarious

  • @mjayles200

    @mjayles200

    6 жыл бұрын

    He's just capitalizing on the "aging supper successful rock star" image. If you look at later lectures, he gets rid of the tent-sized Blazer and enormous shoulder pads. Now, he looks really hip! That's called aging gracefully.

  • @ntiffin1
    @ntiffin19 жыл бұрын

    What a fascinating lecture, i was riveted to the screen. Thank you for making this video available to us all.

  • @merhabamedicalacademy9991

    @merhabamedicalacademy9991

    3 жыл бұрын

    What is a Fascinating lecture

  • @sully1917
    @sully19173 жыл бұрын

    I love the way he explains things.

  • @Aritul
    @Aritul3 жыл бұрын

    Absolutely fascinating! Thank you, Mr. Pinker and the Big Think. I always walk away from these kinds of videos with a renewed respect for the brain. 14:12 Words stored in the brain

  • @jcbarber
    @jcbarber10 жыл бұрын

    Brilliant. Your book, The Language Instinct, changed my perception. I cite your ideas often. :)

  • @rohlay00

    @rohlay00

    2 жыл бұрын

    Do you think it is still relevant today?

  • @dcterr1
    @dcterr12 жыл бұрын

    Wow, what a fascinating lecture! Pinker is an amazing intellect! Last year I read a great book of his called The Better Angels of Our Nature, in which he very convincingly argues that human society has been steadily improving throughout our history, contrary to what many people believe. I'd love to delve further into his work! Thanks for sharing this video.

  • @janebanedoe9917

    @janebanedoe9917

    Жыл бұрын

    Oh! If you had the time, and wouldn't mind, what's the one paragraph from that book that would leave me curious enough to buy it myself ? :3 (Thank you, I hope. Lol)

  • @jackkomisar458

    @jackkomisar458

    Жыл бұрын

    @@janebanedoe9917 This is what caused me to buy it: I read from reviews that he proposed a theory of constant human progress to increasing nonviolence. I wondered how he fit the first half of the twentieth century, with its two world wars, the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, the slaughter involved in the partition of India, etc. into his scheme. He managed to do it, but I still wonder what it would have taken to make him question his thesis.

  • @carloschamorro5789
    @carloschamorro5789 Жыл бұрын

    its beautiful to heard this professor talking aboit linguistics.

  • @jestinamona
    @jestinamona2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much for sharing your awesome knowledge, Professor 🙏🏼

  • @razzaxxe
    @razzaxxe4 жыл бұрын

    What a magnificent educator.

  • @nathanharrison7306
    @nathanharrison73063 жыл бұрын

    This is straight up 75% of what an intro ling course will teach you at a four year university, same examples and everything, but in the time of one lecture and spoken by an authority in the field

  • @ma1oy_thd216
    @ma1oy_thd216 Жыл бұрын

    For sure this video can be recommended for everyone who only want to start learning english, cause this professor describes everything clearly, without using any hard constructions, which can usually confuse.

  • @GUPRPEET-Singh
    @GUPRPEET-Singh4 жыл бұрын

    9:54 so true.. i always find it hard to rephrase what i listened. Even if i loved the talk i just listened. But always grasped the gist of it

  • @stephanwilliams8082
    @stephanwilliams80828 жыл бұрын

    This video inspired me to learn more about linguistics.

  • @janakarandheera8344

    @janakarandheera8344

    6 жыл бұрын

    Informative

  • @John_Sturgeon

    @John_Sturgeon

    5 жыл бұрын

    Videos like this help me to stay focused on transferring into MIT and getting my linguistics degree there

  • @RainbowYak
    @RainbowYak3 жыл бұрын

    I have myself a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in linguistics and still I have very much enjoyed this lecture. It neatly summarizes what I have learned over the course of many years. However, as a non-native English speaker, there is one feature that I must admit still isn't entirely clear to me. Namely, it is that of "he be workin'" in AAVE. Professor Pinker notes that this feature is unique to AAVE and that it means something like: "he's got a job" (as opposed to "he's working right now, in this moment"). I also learned about this during my undergrad studies and was told by my professors that it is "unique to AAVE". However, from what I can tell, the meaning of "he's got a job" also exists in General American English or RP in the form of the simple present "he works". So, apparently the sentence: "he be workin' at a hospital" (AAVE) is different from "he works at a hospital" (RP). However, I can't quite understand where the difference lies. They seem to express the same idea, yet I'm told the former means something different because it contains a grammatical feature that only exists in AAVE. I'm sure some of the fine folks in this comment section can unravel this mystery for me :).

  • @aaronzzhu

    @aaronzzhu

    Жыл бұрын

    In AAVE, the “habitual be” emphasizes that an action is habitual or recurring. So it would be more accurate to say “He be working” means that he has been working on a regular basis (and still is). Then, by implication, since he works regularly, he likely has a job.

  • @housnaaouad5428
    @housnaaouad54283 жыл бұрын

    I am impressed, thank God my linguistic professor send us this link❤️❤️❤️

  • @lunainezdelamancha3368
    @lunainezdelamancha33684 ай бұрын

    I speak, write, and read three languages. I used to teach ESL. Thank you very much. Your video helped me a lot with my teachings.

  • @gabrieladoratori9742
    @gabrieladoratori9742 Жыл бұрын

    Well, looks like my three years of linguistics in University just went down the drain. I love this video! It’s literally a nutshell of a whole degree 😆

  • @DarkGuardsman
    @DarkGuardsman7 жыл бұрын

    I'm a computer scientist student and after watching this I'm going to study linguistics more. As it has more of an impact on my work than I've been lead to believe in my classes.

  • @ali.hnasihatgar7187
    @ali.hnasihatgar71873 жыл бұрын

    I totally enjoyed his lecture and learned plenty of new principles about linguistics and one of the best property this lecture has got is including the greatest and most astonishing theories and hypothesis such as universal grammar , Sapir-Whorf and ... . however , he isn't a linguist but it's sharply obvious that he's got an awesome sense of linguistics and how does language work.

  • @GuyI9000
    @GuyI90003 жыл бұрын

    I always felt that there is something very unique in language, more than what evolution can explain and its more built in then mostly learned like other human feats

  • @hyugakaruto
    @hyugakaruto7 жыл бұрын

    This was really good

  • @miltonmiller
    @miltonmiller2 жыл бұрын

    This excellent lecture reminds me of what an incredibly difficult challenge it is to produce AI capable of understanding language and using it at the level humans do.

  • @thecomprehensionhub4612
    @thecomprehensionhub46123 жыл бұрын

    I dig the editing of this video. Complements the lecture very well!

  • @noreenjenny7039
    @noreenjenny70392 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for explaining clearly and brought my attention deeper into it! 🙏

  • @Adtonius
    @Adtonius9 жыл бұрын

    If you wanna know more about languages, logic, and interesting facts & trivia about language etc, I recommend NativLang on youtube. Very high quality videos, but for some reason the videos gets a very very low view count. He also got an interesting playlist about the construction of human language.

  • @FlockOfHawks

    @FlockOfHawks

    6 жыл бұрын

    thanx for this recommandation, the channel looks promising!

  • @Kocha04

    @Kocha04

    5 жыл бұрын

    I also recommend LangFocus. I love that channcel. I also love NativLang, I've been subscribed there for a while now.

  • @Barnardrab

    @Barnardrab

    5 жыл бұрын

    Thanks. I'll check that out.

  • @nicoletalarico9555

    @nicoletalarico9555

    5 жыл бұрын

    He also got???

  • @nilviavogel8914
    @nilviavogel89143 жыл бұрын

    Excelente palestra, Sr. Pinker! Muito obrigada!

  • @JinX-so5yv
    @JinX-so5yv7 ай бұрын

    This gentleman speaks very well,easy to understand and makes me want to learn more.

  • @adithyaadiga85
    @adithyaadiga852 жыл бұрын

    Its fascinating to learn how the functioning of mind can be comprehensible with the study of language. Very interesting video

  • @mcestardo
    @mcestardo7 жыл бұрын

    He looks genius heheh... I adore him and I subscribed! He is brilliant! :) We need humans like him, very useful in the community.

  • @alexallan-musicaaovivo500
    @alexallan-musicaaovivo5008 жыл бұрын

    What an awesome lecture!

  • @stephenpowstinger733

    @stephenpowstinger733

    3 жыл бұрын

    If clear thinking, careful enunciation and delivery solves basic existential problems, this guy reigns supreme.

  • @MultiRmarie
    @MultiRmarie Жыл бұрын

    Excellent! Very clear and easy to understand such a complex topic. Thanks professor.

  • @yoshiaarjona3861
    @yoshiaarjona38613 жыл бұрын

    a wonderful lecture by a brilliant academic. and easy to understand, too 💓

  • @anasantosguerreiro9871
    @anasantosguerreiro98713 жыл бұрын

    If only my linguistics professor at university had shown us this... I would have considered linguistics much more interesting right away!

  • @JoeCarterTheWisdomOfLife
    @JoeCarterTheWisdomOfLife8 жыл бұрын

    8:08 Language is not the same as thought. Many people report that they think in "language", but cognitive psychologists have shown that there are many kinds of thought that don't actually take place in the form of sentences. For example, we know from ingenious experiments that non linguistic creatures, such as babies before they've learned to speak, or other kinds of animals, have sophisticated kinds of cognition. They register cause and effect, and objects, and the intentions of other people, all without the benefit of speech. We also know that even in people that do have speech, namely adults, a lot of thinking goes on in forms other than language.... even when you understand language, what you come away with ts not in itself the actual language that you hear. Another important finding in cognitive psychology is that long term memory for verbal material records the just or the meaning or the content of the words rather than the exact form of the words. (An echo of the meaning, rather than the structure itself)... In fact even when it comes to understanding a sentence, the actual words are the tip of a vast iceberg of very rapid unconscious non-linguistic processing that's necessary even to make sense of the language itself.

  • @alexanderk.5474

    @alexanderk.5474

    8 жыл бұрын

    +Joe Carter I 'heart' Joe. ^^.

  • @zapdos3369

    @zapdos3369

    3 жыл бұрын

    Language is the bridge between all types of thought though. When you want to describe those other thoughts you use..language

  • @AndImOkayWithIt

    @AndImOkayWithIt

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@zapdos3369 except when a representation of those “thoughts” which you may also be mistaking for “feelings”, are more accurately conveyed/communicated by that which transcends language: art!!

  • @AndImOkayWithIt

    @AndImOkayWithIt

    2 жыл бұрын

    @Naphtaly Ramotedi how would you explain his examples though? eg., do you not mentally rotating the visual geometric shape, absent “words/language” to ascertain whether or not they are the same?

  • @zapdos3369

    @zapdos3369

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@AndImOkayWithIt it actually just transcends verbal communication but is still communication and therefore language.

  • @denisehigo3211
    @denisehigo32113 жыл бұрын

    Bravo ! What a dream fulfilled to watch such a masterclass from Pinker !!!

  • @sastrainggris-fakultasilmu4910
    @sastrainggris-fakultasilmu49103 жыл бұрын

    very amazing lecture of linguistics, I am very proud of your clearly explanation about linguistics. it becomes my inspiration to be like Mr. Steven Pingker that a smart linguist. thank you very much. I 'll very apreciate it.