What is Linguistics?: Crash Course Linguistics #1
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2024
- Language is everywhere. Linguistics is the study of language, but what does that even mean? In this episode of Crash Course Linguistics, we'll begin talking about some of the features and levels of structure of language, and introduce some of the other topics we'll be covering throughout this series.
Want even more linguistics? Check out the Lingthusiasm podcast, hosted by the writers of Crash Course Linguistics: lingthusiasm.com/
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It's important to note that linguists aren't polyglots. It sounds obvious, but it's a common misconception.
You can also know a lot about a language and still not be fluent. One of the biggest reasons for this is that vocabulary is a massive grind and memorizing a lot of it for one language is tedious. Knowing linguistics does, however, give you a significant advantage in learning whatever language you want. That's obviously not its main goal though.
Agreed
Man, this never even occurred to me. Serious question, what kinda jobs can linguist get
@@crystalwolcott4744 Many linguists are programmers, some teachers, others go in to law or academia.
@@crystalwolcott4744 All sorts. Whenever I think of what jobs a degree can get, I think of how you can sell those skills to employers. Imagine being able to analyze language at all levels of structure from the brain to computers to society; it's pretty darn useful, especially when paired with pretty much ANY other major. I just graduated with my HBA in Linguistics and I've almost run into the problem of having too many options.
No way, you guys don't understand how long I've been waiting for this.
Right?! Where are my language nerds in here?! My teammates of translation! My dreamers of dialect! My sequencers of syntax!
same! literal years!
SAME!!!! I've been waiting for this for almost 5 years! Fellow language nerds rise uppp
Same here 🥳
You and me both, and scrolling down I've realised there are many of us!
*I’m gonna be a big fan of that series*
Me too, dear friend. I'm not an English native so I enjoy any occasion to know more about English.
Yeah
Totally
Paul.D Ayisyen sanble tankou yon lang difisil.
Paul 😂
Oh look, my degree finally has a series on it.
Where was this when I was a freshman in college, lol
As someone who's super interested in linguistics, any advice for going along with it?
Me too, please I’m a junior 😄
@@someonerandom704
@esmeralda herrera
1) The IPA is your best friend. If you're good to her and give her a lot of attention, she will only aid you as you progress
2) Don't feel like you need to know what you want to do going into it. Took me two years to find Phonology/Phonetics and fall in love
3) Despite research, professors usually choose to teach in this particular field, and love talking about what they know. Office hours are rarely useful, imo, but I've always found them useful
4) A lot of systems are better understood with a second language, and second languages become a lot easier when you learn basic language systems.
4b) If you choose a language to learn, build vocabulary before learning sentences. I highly recommend the book "Fluent Forever", which has a 'most-important' vocabulary list for language, and the app Anki to learn them (also my personal flashcard app for all of my studies)
5) It's not maths, but it's still difficult. However, don't see it as overpowering, see it as a challenge. Language is a giant puzzle, and each little process and pattern is a piece of it. Puzzles take everyone different amounts of time, and yet we still commit and finish them. The more you connect, the easier it is to see the greater image as a whole, and like a puzzle it's incredibly satisfying to make it to the end and see what you've done.
@@esmeraldaherrera6803 see previous comment
Right! This would’ve been really helpful when I was a freshman
*Cuddles up to my Linguistics degree with a glass of wine.* ...its time.
I wonder what the next crash course "Things I never knew I was interested in" will be.
Isn't Crash Course "things I never knew I'd be interested in" basically Sci Show?
Logistics
I thought the same about linguistics. Then I discovered John McWhorter's book "Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue" and the rabbit hole just swallowed me up.
I love how inclusive this is of signed languages
As a field, Linguistics is inclusive of signed languages as a rule. They are classified as languages in their own rite, not a way of speaking a different language (I get frustrated when people think ASL is just a way of speaking English with your hands, because it really isn't). Any linguist worth their salt would not try to claim otherwise.
@@reNNDinclusus yes but many people, unless in my country, just don't talk about this. Yes, technically they consider singh lenguage as a lenguage but never mentioned it in public.
Signing and vocalizing aren't mutually exclusive. In Mandarin, for example, you'll see a lot of native speakers wave their hands with the tones of the each syllable. Italians are known for being very physically expressive too, it just helps strengthen whatever meaning they're conveying.
@@someonerandom704 That's not the same as a signed language, though. What you're referring to is a form of paralanguage. Paralinguistic hand gestures can be used in combination with language to emphasize a point or mediate the emotional tone of their message, as can facial expressions and body language.
However, this does not count as a component of the spoken language. The hand gestures that accompany speech in face-to-face communication between speakers of Italian or Mandarin don't substantially change the lexical content of the message being conveyed, they do not serve a grammatical purpose, and they are not necessary for understanding the content of the message. If hand gestures were a component of languages such as Mandarin or Italian, it would not be possible to carry out a phone call in these languages.
To contrast, the signs in signed languages are linguistic, not paralinguistic. They each have a discrete lexical and/or grammatical meaning, and can be used in sequences to express statements as complex as anything you can say with a spoken language.
I don't currently know of any languages that require both vocalization and hand signs in combination. It's not impossible that such multimodal languages could exist, though. I do hope CC makes an episode on paralinguistics, though. It's actually a very fascinating topic.
Ofcouse ASL is include 😄 it’s a that is a form of language a form of communication linguistic is more about the communicating, my professor always make funny jokes saing the transfer of imagery from my brain to your brain in the form of language phonology sound or non phono hand gestures body language images and symbols like a red octave with funny scribbles of what it’s symbolic for which is a stop sing so always remember ASL is part of linguistics ☺️
Everybody a linguistics fan until colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Still a fan
@@wallalalo Chomsky would be proud. Keep fanning, you cunning linguist, you!
But has the sentence "Furiously sleep ideas green colorless" ever occured in English?
@@Fussfackel Oh yeah, I say it all the time, kind of my calling card at social events before they curiously (or perhaps, furiously) kick me out. I'm not sure why.
@@thekillerpillow Don't change your calling card but chose different social events. You calling card is awesome!
Terry Ptatchett was a linguistics MASTER:
“The forest of Skund was indeed enchanted, which was nothing unusual on the Disc, and was also the only forest in the whole universe to be called -- in the local language -- Your Finger You Fool, which was the literal meaning of the word Skund.
The reason for this is regrettably all too common. When the first explorers from the warm lands around the Circle Sea travelled into the chilly hinterland they filled in the blank spaces on their maps by grabbing the nearest native, pointing at some distant landmark, speaking very clearly in a loud voice, and writing down whatever the bemused man told them. Thus were immortalised in generations of atlases such geographical oddities as Just A Mountain, I Don't Know, What? and, of course, Your Finger You Fool.
Rainclouds clustered around the bald heights of Mt. Oolskunrahod ('Who is this Fool who does Not Know what a Mountain is') and the Luggage settled itself more comfortably under a dripping tree, which tried unsuccessfully to strike up a conversation.”
I love me some Pratchett. Thanks for the excerpt from The Light Fantastic. I cherish a particular passage from his book Lords and Ladies for the way it uses language.
This is based on real-life occurrences with place names in America, lol. There are rivers named "River," mountains named "Mountain", etc.
@@IgnisDomini97 i know, that's what makes pratchett so great
Ignis Domini Sahara Desert, Gobi Desert, Kalahari Desert. All words that where used describe rather than name the areas
@@IgnisDomini97 Rivers named River or even "Water" are everywhere in basically all languages. Even irish and scottish names will just be things like Blackpool (Dublin is an example). And i think Pratchett got it more from the urban Legend about "Kangaroo" meaning "I have no idea" or something like that. (Linguists have not truly identified the dialect originating it but there are half a dozen candidates with more intelligent meanings that could have been butchered by an englishman to "kangaroo"...)
My name is Ulysses. I'm Brazilian and I've been teaching English for over 40 years. This crash course will certainly brush up my working area.
eu estudio o português brasileiro e o considero um caso muito lingüisticamente interessante. Os acentos, as gírias e as expressãos sobre brasil mudam bem mais apesar de que a lingua só é de um país num continente diferente.
When you show up to class before the bell rings
I love linguistics, very excited that Crash Course is doing this :D
I love Swahili's "chafya" for sneeze. It's so satisfying to say.
Wait... linguistics is Not the study of linguini?
Life has no meaning anymore......
@Language and Programming Channel "The year is 4328. Argentinian spanish now pronounces 'll' as [ɬ], and italians can no longer communicate without cooking."
That would be linguiniology studies part of the culinary studies faculty.
@@ANTSEMUT1 How many languages distinguish between a voiceless saucified noodle fricative and a voiced prosciutto lateral approximate?
Then you have to give it some. Maybe with a passion for pasta-making as a start.
Off topic but since we're talking culinary subjects.... I ordered the Ken Onion Work Sharp knife sharpener.
I can wjole heartedly recommend it! If you want to save time and be safer not working to cook meals, that thing will allow razor sharp edges!
I found mine online for 98.00.... don't spend the 150.00-200.00 others are asking. :-)
Also worked to sharpen my mandoline!
I love the inclusion of non spoken language like ASL from the get go, really great and inclusive to none hearing folks!
Deaf folks. Since when.was deaf a swear word?
sad boi idk my brain just decided to write it that way I’m not trynna make a statement or anything lol
Ikkkr I almost majored in Asl so I get excited when its talked about positively
Ofcouse ASL is include 😄 it’s a that is a form of language a form of communication linguistic is more about the communicating, my professor always make funny jokes saing the transfer of imagery from my brain to your brain in the form of language phonology sound or non phono hand gestures body language images and symbols like a red octave with funny scribbles of what it’s symbolic for which is a stop sing so always remember ASL is part of linguistics ☺️
Mikey, is that you? Keep rocking the flag
I’m so excited!!!! I’ve been asking for this every year on the nerdfighteria census for so long that I’ve gone through college and graduated with a degree in linguistics lol
Uh...
iconic!
I would like to remind you all that,
🍌🍌🍌 = chom choms
very important
🍌🍌🍌 = pisang (indonesian language)
🍌🍌🍌= koi (my local language, ternate language, a region in eastern part of indonesia)
@@rikzalmuhammad1731 romoi romdidi raange itu yang kta blajar di smp
Crash Course Philosophy was the bom diggity
🍌
Right at the end, you touch upon a very important thing to understand: Often there is no single, direct translation from one word in one language to one word in a different language.
This is because often words have multiple related (but different) meanings, and in a different language those meanings might have each their own words.
As an example, take the word "date", which has several meanings in English:
1) (noun) a reference to a day and possibly year: 2020-09-12
2) (verb) the act of assigning an age, period or date(1) to an object: He dated the find to 70CE.
3) (noun) a social event with a partner - often of a romantic nature.
4) (noun) the partner taken on a date(3).
5) (verb) the act of going on a date(3) with a date(4).
And sometimes there are even words that are written identically to other words, such as:
6) (noun) a kind of fruit.
Just because those first 5 meanings use the same word in English, there's no good reason to assume they will be using the same word in another language. And the fruit is very unlikely to have a similar name to anything related to calendars or scheduling.
Edit: typo.
There is a song from the web series RWBY in which two singers, one male and one female, describe how red hot dangerous they are, with the end of each chorus saying "I'm a tad mean, but I'm not afraid to take you out". Now there are two meanings to the term "Take you out". One is to knock out/kill/make incapable of further fighting someone. The other is to go out on a date.
Now here's where it gets squicky -- the singers are, in real life, father and daughter. The first meaning is what they intended, but the second is still there -- and if you know who sings the duet is very disturbing.
The song is ti8tles "Caffeine" if you want to look it up. It rocks, by the way.
It might not be possible to translate a concept using a single word of the target language and in some situation the culture associated with it doesn't have the concept at all .
For languages within similar language families, it may be possible to still do transliteration to some extent. But it gets problematic for very different languages from different families. This is the main reason why automated computer translations do a horrible job at translating between different language types. Computers are very good at translating individual words but horrible at discerning context and social nuances. Through neural networks, an AI can be trained of course, but your best bet is still a human fluent in both languages.
“Because without our language, we have lost ourselves. Who are we without our words?”
― Melina Marchetta
true true
Melina!! author of Jellicoe Road!!
“We seldom realize, for example that our most private thoughts and emotions are not actually our own. For we think in terms of languages and images which we did not invent, but which were given to us by our society.”
― Alan Watts
But our own combination of those thoughts and emotions make them our own, duality of patterning ehh?
It would be very hard to have a coherent thought without some sort of language or other. That's human nature. We are Descartes' "Thing that Thinks", and the reason we are the Thing that Thinks is that we have a medium with which to coordinate and express our thoughts -- which is language.
@@MichaelHopcroft *Cough* *cough* Genie *cough* *cough*
I literally just started linguistics for my college science requirement and I am already so overwhelmed! With no direct instruction (online learning) I thought I would check out and see if Crash Course had linguistics......looks like great minds think a like! How often will episodes be published? I am super excited and grateful!!
usually it's every week iirc?
I started a linguistics course this term and I'm so stoked for this series !
this presenter has such a lovely manner - both calming and engaged :)
And she's almost certainly a Sconnie. They're the best
I agree. Taylor is awesome. Check out her other channel, "It's Radish Time." She has a lot of very interesting things to say.
To everyone who asked me "So what exactly do you study in Linguistics?"
Finally! My favorite academic subject outside the fine arts! I can't wait!
I really enjoyed linguistics back in college, it’s very enlightening
These lectures are so beneficial for students who try to learn English and improve listening skills. Thanks a lot.
Before this drives me insane, is "gavagai" a word for rabbit or bunny in any world language, or did you just make it up for the example?
It's a word used by W. V. Quine for an example of indeterminacy of reference in language, as it's used here. He claimed it was an Arunta word (the Arunta being an aboriginal Australian tribe), but I haven't found any source that backs it up as being a real word, so it was likely made up by him for the example.
Gavagai is the word for "My stolen yellow neckerchief"
Yessss I've been waiting ages for this series! I'm so thrilled you're treating signed languages on the same level as spoken languages and taking a hard stance against prescriptivism!
Thanks for this course ♥️ I'm a linguist myself and I find these introductory courses very refreshing and informative.
Me too! Honestly, when I saw this, the first thought that came to me was, "I need this. I can't even remember the definition of morphology..."
To the early squad reading this: sending virtual hugs to everyone who needs it
*sending the hugs back in kind*
Love you, boo ✨🦜❤️✨
Thanks. Now stop hugging me.
Melissa Teodola 😁🤗🤗🤗
This is awesome! Languages are really fascinating, so I was hoping you'd make a Linguistics series since the start of the channel.
I'm a volunteer trying to promote and preserve a regional language called Ligurian and I'd love to study linguistics to be more proficient in my efforts, but since I'm a Nurse I have little time for a second degree in my life, so a course like this on UA-cam is at least a nice tool for an enthusiast like me to orientate himself! I love it already!
i've been waiting for this series for years! this is so exciting!!
Studied Linguistics for two years at university alongside my degree. I learned more from this video than the actual courses at uni
Super excited for this series and even more excited the host talks at a speed conducive for understanding when I bump it to x2 :D
This is amazing stuff. I've been interested in linguistics for a long time and I've written a couple of conlangs, but often find it hard to get to grips with some concepts, so I'm really excited to learn some new things.
I already wish this series was going to be longer - there's so much to learn!
I'm dyslectic and instead of trying just to remember the way something is written I turn to Linguistics to find a reason WHY something is written that way. Also, Linguistics can really showcase how history effects us still. Local dialects and accents are hold very dear, even if the origin of said dialect comes from a decade ago. I had a friend who could tell where your parents were born simply from the way YOU pronounced your words. Quite fascinating :)
I just found your channel on UA-cam yesterday and now you’re hosting a crash course I’m interested in? Awesome!
Years ago in my philosophy course my professor did a lecture about linguistics and honestly it really turned me onto the idea of how people communicate. So excited to see where this goes
I feel so lucky to have this series as I'm taking linguistics this semester.
You can literally study from all the crash course videos and know everything you need to know.😭💕
I have been wanting this series for SO LONG!
This is a great start! Really excited for this series!
I really like how much sign language is included in this! It feels really valuable, especially because a lot of people don’t really think of sign language as a “real language”
Sign languages have been considered "real languages" in the field of linguistics for a long time
We love this series. Keep it up and make additional sub-courses about it.
I can't wait to watch this series. It's going to be quite eye opening, and fun!
Thank you!
I've been waiting for this. I'm very excited about the series!
Your pronunciation of Swahili words "chafya" and "mbweu" is so perfect, I wonder how you managed to pronounce them so very correct, most non-native speakers use broken pronunciation while speaking Swahili language.
watching lots of videos of native speakers and lots and LOTS of practice. later on, we'll cover how linguists represent the specific places and ways we make sounds, and having that as a guide made it a bit easier!
@@ItsRadishTime All the best. I hope you will also talk about optimality theory, my favourite phonological theory 🥰
@Language and Programming Channel @ItsRadishTime isn't a professional linguist. Her website says shes a "writer, video maker, and digital organizer.". But the course was written by linguists Gretchen McCulloch, Jessi Grieser and Lauren Gawne
This is so relaxing compared to your other topics I can tell I’m gonna love this series 🥺
Great stuff! This is a wonderfully broad and easy to understand introduction video. I can't wait to see the rest!
I *love* this series already! Thank you, Crash Course! And I appreciate the use of sign language as an equal, which I’m not used to in the Netherlands. Loves.
Yess!! My major! I have waited so long to see a Crash Course Linguistics series!
I’ve been wanting a linguistics Crash Course for YEARS, I’m so looking forward to this!
In the world of Monty Python and the Holy Grail "gavagai" could mean "run away!"
Oh my goodness I have been looking for a video like this for the past few weeks and I stumbled across this just now and was excited to see how recently it was posted! Very excited for this series!!
I have been waiting for this series forever!!❤️❤️
Anticipando los proximos 15 videos! Gracias!
So interesting, can't wait for the rest of the series!
Squee! Both excited to see this series AND to see the writers are the hosts of one of my favourite podcasts. This is going to be such fun!
Brilliant course, I'm so excited for this! Potentially a linguistics major, this is very helpful.
DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE WAITED FOR THIS SERIES
Yes!!! I've always wanted something like this! I'm so excited. You did so well. Thank you
Oh hell yes! That's a series I've been expecting for a while!
Perfect timing! Everyone needs to be mindful of language, all the more in democracies and in messaging. I'd asked for a Crash Course in studying rhetoric and this is even better.
so glad crash course is doing linguistics series now , i’m excited!
I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS SERIES!
Finally - a crash course in Linguistics!! I’m so happy as an undergrad in Linguistics. Been waiting for so longgg 🙌
I'm so excited for this series!!!
I am sooooooo excited for this series
About time to start this series. Looking forward to.
I've been waiting for this for sooooo long! Yay!
This is my dream come true! I'm very passionate about Linguistics and to see other people feeling the same way I do is just so amazing!
Definitely gonna love this! Perfect for travelers as well
So excited for this series!
Amazing video><
I will eagerly wait next series!
Great first video! Excited for the next one!
OMG OMG OMG this is all I have ever wanted from this channel T.T you da best Crash course
Loving this so far! This course is gonna be AWESOME ❤️
Sending love from Romania
Omg, I JUST started my first linguistics course in Uni, I’m so happy this is coming out now! Thanks Crash Course!!
I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS!!!!!! THANK U FOR MAKING THIS 😊
Crash Course, you guys are the very best! Thank you, thank you and thank you!
Oh yeah, I already fell in love with the subject. Great first episode!
YESSSSSS I've been waiting for Crash Corse Linguistics since I knew Crash Course! So exciting!!
I’m so happy with this course, I can’t wait for the next video!
Looking forward to the rest of this series!
Just wow! I liked how things were put together. I am a big fan
As a speech-language pathologist, I must say THANK YOU for creating this CrashCourse series. It brings back fond memories of my undergraduate days in linguistics. :)
I am really excited for the upcoming videos
I can't wait for this series. Thanks, Crash Course ❤❤
Im so excited for this series!!!
Ahh Taylor so excited to see a crash course, I've been watching it'sradishtime for ages
So ready for this series ngl!!
YES! You dont know how much i waited for this topic to finally in crsh course. Thank You so much. Im so intrigued and interested in Linguistics and this video (and i hope future videos) will keep me hooked and entertained.
Looking forward for this project!
I am a big fan! Look forward to this contribution! Thank yOU!
Very thankful for this series.
Thanks A LOT for this course!
Glad to see them reaching all different areas of academics. Hope they start marking really specific series, like videos about specific languages, histories of more individual countries, etc etc etc