List of TED talks on languages

A list of interesting TED (and TEDx) talks on language that I enjoyed watching. Lots of fascinating concepts and theories.

Deb Roy: The Birth of a Word

MIT researcher Deb Roy wanted to understand how his infant son learned language. To do this, he wired his house with video cameras to capture nearly every moment of his son’s life. He then analyzed over 90,000 hours of video to observe how sounds like “gaaaa” gradually evolved into words like “water.”

An astonishing, data-rich piece of research with deep implications for understanding how humans acquire language.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE4ce4mexrU

Chris Lonsdale: How to Learn Any Language in Six Months

Chris Lonsdale is the Managing Director of Chris Lonsdale & Associates, a company focused on helping individuals and teams achieve breakthrough performance.

He has developed a unique and integrated approach to learning that enables people to acquire languages or complex technical knowledge in surprisingly short periods of time.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0yGdNEWdn0

Mark Pagel: How Language Transformed Humanity

Biologist Mark Pagel shares an intriguing theory about why humans evolved complex language.

He argues that language is a form of “social technology” that enabled early human tribes to unlock a powerful new tool: cooperation.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImQrUjlyHUg

John McWhorter: Txtng Is Killing Language. JK!!

Does texting signal the death of good writing?

Linguist John McWhorter argues that texting is much more than it appears. From both linguistic and cultural perspectives, he explains why the rise of texting is actually good news for language.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmvOgW6iV2s

Steven Pinker: What Our Language Habits Reveal

In this talk, Steven Pinker explores language as a window into the human mind.

Drawing on ideas from his book The Stuff of Thought, Pinker explains how the words we choose reveal far more about our thoughts, intentions, and personalities than we often realize.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjQM8PzCEY0

Suzanne Talhouk: Don’t Kill Your Language

English has become a global language, and speaking it is often perceived as a sign of modernity.

But what do we lose when we abandon our mother tongues?

Suzanne Talhouk makes a passionate case for preserving native languages and celebrating the unique ways they express culture, identity, and human experience.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNOiwgrZbPE

James Geary: Metaphorically Speaking

Author and aphorism enthusiast James Geary explores one of the most fascinating features of human language: metaphor.

From Aristotle to Elvis Presley, metaphors have shaped how we think, communicate, and even make decisions.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cU56SWXHFw

Stephen Burt: Why People Need Poetry

“We’re all going to die — and poems can help us live with that.”

In this charming and often humorous talk, literary critic Stephen Burt takes viewers on a journey through poetry, exploring why humans are drawn to verse and how poetry helps us understand ourselves and the world around us.

Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08ZWROqoTZo

What Are Your Favorite TED Talks About Language?

These talks cover a wide range of language-related topics, including:

• Language acquisition

• Linguistics

• Communication

• Multilingualism

• Writing systems

• Text messaging and digital communication

• Metaphors and meaning

• Poetry and expression

Do you have any favorite TED or TEDx talks about language, linguistics, communication, translation, or storytelling? Feel free to share them!