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The Link Between Evolution and Language

TED via YouTube

Overview

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Explore the fascinating parallels between biological evolution and linguistic development in this 21-minute TED talk featuring evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and linguist John McWhorter. Discover how languages drift, adapt, and evolve much like living species through a wide-ranging conversation that traces connections between biology and speech. Learn about the mechanisms of random mutations in both genetic and linguistic contexts, and understand how cultural selection shapes language development. Examine how genes and words undergo similar processes of change and survival, and gain insights into the deep patterns that connect and shape both life and language across human cultures.

Syllabus

The Link Between Evolution and Language | Richard Dawkins | TED

Taught by

TED

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