Twenty Thousand Hertz

Historically Speaking: How language & accent shape your brain

Dec 2, 2019
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INSIGHT

Uniqueness of Human Language

  • Human language is uniquely complex and infinitely combinable, unlike animal communication limited to fewer signals.
  • This complexity enables nuanced expression and sophisticated cooperation distinct to humans.
ANECDOTE

Accent Challenges Within English

  • Helen Zaltzmann experiences difficulty pronouncing American English R sounds due to British mouth muscle limitations.
  • This illustrates how varying phonemes create challenges even within the same language.
ANECDOTE

Accent Shapes Identity Perception

  • Lera Boroditsky shares she grew up speaking Russian but sounds like a normal American English speaker.
  • Discovering people feel suspicious when they can't detect her Russian accent shows language's identity power.
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