PickVidsBest Language & linguistics Videos
The 84 Language & linguistics videos here were recommended by different people across different months. Choose by who it is for: 1 introductory, 3 intermediate, 80 for a general viewer, and 0 for someone who wants the harder derivation. Most of them are an explainer. What they share is that one picture or analogy is used to supply a missing concept. Channels you will keep seeing include Tom Scott, TEDx Talks, CGP Grey.
The Concept of Language (Noam Chomsky)
Noam Chomsky talks with the University of Washington's Upon Reflection about how languages change over time, why a national language is a modern idea, and how language is a system of communication rooted in human nature.
Gender Neutral Pronouns: They're Here, Get Used To Them
Tom Scott argues that grammatical gender is a silly concept and that the singular 'they' is an established gender-neutral pronoun.
How to write cuneiform with Irving Finkel and @preservethings I Curator's Corner S4 Ep9
British Museum curator Irving Finkel teaches how to write cuneiform, with a colleague following along.
Shakespeare: Original pronunciation (The Open University)
David and Ben Crystal introduce the Original Pronunciation production of Shakespeare and show what it reveals about the history of English, including puns and rhymes lost in modern speech.
w
jan Misali traces the history of the letter W, including why it is called double u.
Edward Gibson: Human Language, Psycholinguistics, Syntax, Grammar & LLMs | Lex Fridman Podcast #426
Lex Fridman interviews MIT psycholinguist Edward Gibson on human language, syntax, grammar and how large language models relate to them.
Accent Expert Gives a Tour of U.S. Accents - (Part 2) | WIRED
Dialect coach Erik Singer tours a range of accents across North America with linguists in Part 2 of WIRED's accent series.
Vocal Fry: what it is, who does it, and why people hate it!
Linguist Geoff Lindsey explores vocal fry: what it is, who uses it, how it relates to glottal stops and accents, and why some people dislike it.
Hacker Interviews: Larry Wall
Jonathan Schiefer interviews Larry Wall, creator of Perl, in a 33-minute conversation.
Why “No Problem” Can Seem Rude: Phatic Expressions
Tom Scott explains phatic expressions such as hello, thank you and how are you, which carry social meaning rather than information, and why replies like no problem can seem rude to some people.
Rhyme: Why Eminem is one of the most impressive lyricists ever
A re-upload of a video breaking down Eminem's rhyme schemes, showing multi-syllable and internal rhymes in songs such as Lose Yourself.
Try this bizarre audio illusion! 👁️👂😮 - BBC
A BBC Horizon clip demonstrating the McGurk effect, where the same audio sounds like different syllables depending on the mouth movements you see.
Accent Expert Gives a Tour of U.S. Accents - (Part One) | WIRED
Dialect coach Erik Singer and several linguists tour distinct accents across English-speaking North America.
The Epic Of Gilgamesh In Sumerian
Peter Pringle sings the opening of the Epic of Gilgamesh in Sumerian, accompanied by a reconstructed ancient instrument.
Jake Thackray 'Molly Metcalfe'
Jake Thackray performs the folk song Molly Metcalfe, which opens with an explanation of the traditional northern English sheep-counting system (yan, tan, tethera).
Duolingo -- the next chapter in human computation | Luis von Ahn | TEDxCMU 2011
Luis von Ahn, creator of CAPTCHA and reCAPTCHA, presents Duolingo at TEDxCMU 2011.
George Carlin on Soft Language
A George Carlin stand-up bit from Doin' It Again about soft language and euphemism, showing how softened words hide uncomfortable facts.
The Stuff of Thought | Steven Pinker | Talks at Google
Steven Pinker presents his book The Stuff of Thought at Google in 2007.
One Typo, Wrong Continent
CGP Grey explains why airport codes are inconsistent and sometimes confusing, from their origins in old weather station codes to the quirks that cause mistakes.
George Carlin on soft language
A clip from George Carlin's 1990 special 'Doin' It Again' in which he describes how American English has been sterilized with euphemisms, using examples such as shell shock becoming PTSD.
Can Japanese People Read Chinese? (Mandarin, Simplified)
Yuta, a Japanese YouTuber, tests how much simplified Chinese a Japanese person can read, working with a Mandarin speaker.
George Carlin - Euphemisms & political correctness
A George Carlin routine on euphemisms and political correctness, tracing how shell shock became PTSD.
Can Japanese People Read Chinese? (Kanji)
Yuta, a Japanese YouTuber, explains whether Japanese speakers can read Chinese text.
A Bit of Fry & Laurie Concerning Language
A Fry and Laurie sketch about language, full of absurd phrases and wordplay, which also plays on the distinction between langue and parole.