TELEVISION

Language Families of the World - Season 1

Series: Language Families of the World
4.9
(22)
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Episodes
34
Rating
TVPG
Year
2019
Language
English
Publisher
The Great Courses

About

Professor John McWhorter of Columbia University explores the linguistic trails left by generations of humans that lead back to the beginnings of language. Utilizing historical theories and cutting-edge research, these 34 episodes will introduce you to major language families and their offspring, including languages that are no longer spoken but provide vital links to the past.

Related Subjects

Episodes

1 to 3 of 34

1. Why Are There So Many Languages?

30m

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There are over 7,000 languages in the world and many linguists believe they likely all developed from a single source language in the distant past. Get an introduction to the concept of language families, understand how languages change over time, and discover what linguistics can teach us about our own history.

2. The First Family Discovered: Indo-European

28m

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While the Indo-European family of languages was not the first group to be identified as related, it is the family that has received much of the research and classification that became the basis of modern linguistics. Uncover what defines Indo-European languages, which include Latin, English, French, Armenian, Latvian, Sanskrit, and many more.

3. Indo-European Languages in Europe

29m

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Begin a deep dive into the earliest roots of Indo-European languages with a look at Germanic, Romance, Balto-Slavic, Greek, Albanian, and Celtic languages. See how Indo-European languages contradict common notions about how language works and uncover some of the mysteries that are yet to be solved.

Extended Details

  • Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

The Great Coursesdirector
The Great Coursesproducer
John McWhorteractor

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