| Description |
6 videodiscs (approximately 1080 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 course guidebook (vi, 201 pages : illustrations, maps ; 19 cm.). |
| Series |
Great courses. Literature & language. Linguistics |
|
Great courses (DVD) Language & literature. Linguistics.
|
| System Details |
DVD. |
| Performer |
Lecturer: Prof. John McWhorter, Manhattan Institute. |
| Credits |
Producer, James Blandford ; director, Jon Leven ; academic content supervisor, Pam Greer ; camera, Tom Dooley, Jim Allen, Amanda Carter. |
| Note |
36 lectures (30 min. each) on six discs. |
|
Course guidebook include lecture outline, language maps, timeline, glossary, and bibliography. |
| Summary |
Language is fascinating. It defines humans as a species, placing us head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators. Professor McWhorter explores many of the common questions about language, such as: Why isn't there just a single language? Or, How does a language change, and when it does, is that change indicative of decay or growth? In short, everything about a language is eternally and inherently changeable, from its word order and grammar to the very sound and meaning of basic words, while word histories reveal the phenomena of language change and mixture worldwide. |
| Contents |
Disc 1. Lectures 1-6. What is language? ; When language began ; How language changes: sound change ; How language changes: building new material ; How language changes: meaning and order ; How language changes: many directions -- disc 2. Lectures 7-12. How language changes: modern English ; Language families: Indo-European ; Language families: tracing Indo-European ; Language families: diversity of structures ; Language families: clues to the past ; The case against the world's first language -- disc 3. Lectures 13-18. The case for the world's first language ; Dialects: subspecies of species ; Dialects: where do you draw the line ; Dialects: two tongues in one mouth ; Dialects: the standard as token of the past ; Dialects: spoken style, written style -- disc 4. Lectures 19-24. Dialects: the fallacy of blackboard grammar ; Language mixture: words ; Language mixture: grammar ; Language mixture: language areas ; Language develops beyond the call of duty ; Language interrupted -- disc 5. Lectures 25-30. A new perspective on the story of English ; Does culture drive language change? ; Language starts over: Pidgins ; Language starts over: Creoles I ; Language starts over: Creoles II ; Language starts over: signs of the new -- disc 6. Lectures 31-36. Language starts over: the Creole continuum ; What is Black English? ; Language death: the problem ; Language death: prognosis ; Artificial languages ; Finale: master class. |
| Note |
GMD: videorecording. |
| Subject |
Linguistics.
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Historical linguistics.
|
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Linguistic analysis (Linguistics)
|
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Sociolinguistics.
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Psycholinguistics.
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Linguistics -- History.
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Linguistics -- Study and teaching.
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Pidgin languages.
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Creole dialects.
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Dialectology.
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Languages, Artificial.
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Language and languages -- Philosophy -- History.
|
| Added Author |
McWhorter, John H.
|
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Teaching Company.
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| ISBN |
1565859480 |
|
9781565859487 |
| Music No. |
PD1600A Teaching Company |
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