22 August 2013
Podcast: Evolution of Language
26 July 2013
I listen to a lot of podcasts, and one that I regularly download is Desiree Schell’s Skeptically Speaking. It’s a weekly syndicated radio program out of Edmonton, Alberta that discusses a variety of topics related to science, the scientific method, and critical thinking.
Schell’s 19 July 2013 episode is on the evolution of language and features an interview with Noam Chomsky in which the MIT linguist explains his hypothesis of universal grammar, UC Berkeley anthropologist Terrence Deacon who dispute Chomsky’s claim that language is biologically and genetically based, and biologist Con Slobodchikoff, who discusses his work animal language.
If you’re interested but don’t know much about the topic, it’s well worth a listen. Those who have read widely on the subject, however, will probably not find much new.
Kemosabe
27 June 2013
With all the news coming out the Supreme Court yesterday, you may have missed this Slate article on the origin of the term Kemosabe, Tonto’s name for the Lone Ranger.
As usual, there’s no definitive origin, but several plausible theories.
What's Different in Canada
31 May 2013
Not all of these are language-oriented, but this tumblr is dead on the money. (For those of you not resident here in Leftpondia, the “what’s different” refers to Canada and the hulking cultural behemoth to its south.)
50 Common Misconceptions
23 May 2013
This type of debunking is badly needed, although I don’t know how good the research team at Mental Floss is. They do get the Neil Armstrong explanation wrong. (He did indeed intend to say “a small step for a man,” but he actually said, “a small step for man.” It wasn’t a transmission problem that masked the “a.” So all those people who have been “misquoting” him have actually been correct. Armstrong claimed that it was a transmission problem for a while, but eventually admitted he screwed up the statement. Not that anyone blames him. It’s amazing that in all the excitement he didn’t make any bigger mistakes. Here’s The Onion’s take on the historic moment (NSFW).)
