In *Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English*, John McWhorter delves into the fascinating history of the English language, examining its development from Germanic roots through Celtic and Norman influences. The book highlights the unique features of English, such as the use of 'do' and progressive tenses, and discusses how these elements reflect cultural and historical contexts.
In 'Spoken Here', Mark Abley embarks on a global journey to document some of the world's most endangered languages, from Manx to Yiddish. The book highlights the cultural significance of linguistic diversity and the challenges faced by these languages due to globalization and development. Abley's narrative is both engaging and thought-provoking, offering insights into the resilience of languages and their speakers.
In 'The Language Hoax', John H. McWhorter challenges the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which posits that language influences perception and thought. He argues that while language reflects cultural differences, it does not fundamentally alter how people perceive the world. McWhorter provides numerous examples to refute the idea that linguistic structures dictate cognitive processes, suggesting instead that cultural factors are more influential.
In 'Words on the Move', John McWhorter takes readers on a journey through the dynamic nature of language, highlighting how English has always been in flux. He argues that changes in language are natural and should be celebrated rather than resisted. The book delves into fascinating word histories and linguistic phenomena, showcasing the fluidity of language in everyday life.
In 'The Power of Bad', John Tierney and Roy F. Baumeister discuss the negativity effect, which is the universal tendency for negative events and emotions to affect us more strongly than positive ones. The book explains why bad experiences stick with us longer than good ones, how this bias governs our moods, drives marketing, and dominates news and politics. It also offers practical strategies to recognize and manage this negativity bias, helping readers to avoid its pitfalls and use its power for positive results[3][4][6].
John McWhorter is a linguistics professor at Columbia University specialising in research on creole languages.
He's also a content-producing machine, never afraid to give his frank opinion on anything and everything. On top of his academic work he's also written 22 books, produced five online university courses, hosts one and a half podcasts, and now writes a regular New York Times op-ed column.
• Links to learn more, summary, and full transcript
• Video version of the interview
• Lecture: Why the world looks the same in any language
Our show is mostly about the world's most pressing problems and what you can do to solve them. But what's the point of hosting a podcast if you can't occasionally just talk about something fascinating with someone whose work you appreciate?
So today, just before the holidays, we're sharing this interview with John about language and linguistics — including what we think are some of the most important things everyone ought to know about those topics. We ask him:
• Can you communicate faster in some languages than others, or is there some constraint that prevents that?
• Does learning a second or third language make you smarter or not?
• Can a language decay and get worse at communicating what people want to say?
• If children aren't taught a language, how many generations does it take them to invent a fully fledged one of their own?
• Did Shakespeare write in a foreign language, and if so, should we translate his plays?
• How much does language really shape the way we think?
• Are creoles the best languages in the world — languages that ideally we would all speak?
• What would be the optimal number of languages globally?
• Does trying to save dying languages do their speakers a favour, or is it more of an imposition?
• Should we bother to teach foreign languages in UK and US schools?
• Is it possible to save the important cultural aspects embedded in a dying language without saving the language itself?
• Will AI models speak a language of their own in the future, one that humans can't
understand but which better serves the tradeoffs AI models need to make?
We then put some of these questions to ChatGPT itself, asking it to play the role of a linguistics professor at Colombia University.
We’ve also added John’s talk “Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language” to the end of this episode. So stick around after the credits!
And if you’d rather see Rob and John’s facial expressions or beautiful high cheekbones while listening to this conversation, you can watch the video of the full conversation here.
Get this episode by subscribing to our podcast on the world’s most pressing problems and how to solve them: type 80,000 Hours into your podcasting app.
Producer: Keiran Harris
Audio mastering: Ben Cordell
Video editing: Ryan Kessler
Transcriptions: Katy Moore
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