There is a Great Course on The Story of Human Language that provides some interesting points to ponder. For example, are we genetically predispositioned for language? As opposed to the learning over time through culture and society? Lending credence to the former is influence of age in rapid language learning. And the impairments suffered by damage to specific areas of the brain.

The lecturer is, somewhat humorously, a bit condescending and socially <???; he says some things in an academic manner that may be offensive to certain people, especially the current left).

I don't know anything about linguistics theory or science but some of the points made are interesting. Or at least things I've never considered. And makes more explicit the distinction for things like communication (how birds or chimps might interact with us) vs language (which can be more than just temporally nuanced but abstract as well).

Anyway, just thought someone may be interested.

ETA: i knew about it. I could speak it. But now i know the theory behind why, in Chinese, a word pronounced using one of four tones has different meanings.

ETA: I learned something else new. Apparently the word "silly" meant something different in years past, from 'blessed' (old english, german) to 'deserving of compassion or pitiable' along the to one of the modern meanings of 'foolish.' Words that have meaning morphed over time like this cause me to want to back an read again works from 1100s through the 1600's (Shakespeare). An example given was a quote from a Shakespeare play using the word silly and the meaning is completely different using the meaning as intended for the time vs the modern meaning. I wonder how much of <shakespeare's> works I've misinterpreted as such.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: konata88,

I'm still watching this series on occasion. I found one episode that explains why I've had such difficulty understanding Shakespeare's plays. It's not the form but rather the words and phrases used in this older version of English don't have the same meaning as modern English today.

The interesting part is that usually the plays are performed in the original language. However, when the plays are translated, it's translated into the modern version of that language. So, audiences who understand the translated language can more easily understand the dialog and its meaning.

Would like to see perhaps a performance in modern English. Or at least transcribed into modern English (or subtitles like they do for opera).

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Words that have meaning morphed over time like this cause me to want to back an read again works from 1100s through the 1600's (Shakespeare).

"Well-regulated militia" comes to mind. It doesn't mean what anti-2A people think it means, because they are going by modern definitions.

quote:

An example given was a quote from a Shakespeare play using the word silly and the meaning is completely different using the meaning as intended for the time vs the modern meaning.

In Hamlet, he tells Ophelia in a fit of anger, "Get thee to a nunnery."
The line made more sense to me after someone explained to me that during Shakespeare's time, nunnery was slang for brothel.