"The Story of Human Language" Prof John McWhorter (36 Lectures / 30 Minutes Per Lecture / 4x DVD - The Great Courses)
In this 36-lecture series, Professor John McWhorter of Columbia University explores the fascinating evolution of language from its earliest origins to the 6,000-plus tongues spoken today. The course frames language not as a static set of rules, but as a living, breathing organism that is constantly in flux. You’ll trace the development of human speech beginning roughly 150,000 years ago, investigating how sound shifts, grammatical erosion, and new word creation naturally transform one language into many over time. By looking at language families like Indo-European, Professor McWhorter illustrates how seemingly unrelated tongues often share a common, ancient "ancestor."The second half of the course examines the social and cultural forces that shape how we speak, from the rise of dialects and accents to the birth of entirely new languages like pidgins and creoles. You will investigate the scientific mechanisms behind "language mixture" and why some grammars become incredibly complex while others remain streamlined. Crucially, the lectures challenge the idea of "proper" vs. "improper" speech, demonstrating that all dialects—including Black English—are logically consistent and linguistically sophisticated. By the end, you’ll gain a new perspective on language death and preservation in our rapidly globalizing world.