Micro Mention "The Story of Human Language"

How languages evolve, split, and combine over time is an interesting subject for me, so I really enjoyed Professor John McWhorter's course presented by the Great Courses, "The Story of Human Language."

If you pick up this course, McWhorter takes you down several unexpected twists and turns on how language functions and even changes with time. There is this odd conception that language degrades with time and becomes coarser and less refined. All of which, in my opinion, is just another symptom of overindulgence in nostalgic thinking, this erroneous belief that back in the past, there was some golden age that we've all just gotten away from. If only we all still wandered about speaking perfect Latin at each other, things would be better.

It wouldn't.

In any case, McWhorter helped me understand that language is a vital thing, a living thing that changes and reflects the people whose mouths—or hands, or whatever electronic assistance devices—speak it.

Micro Mention "English In America: A Linguistic History"

This course by the great courses “English In America: A Linguistic History” taught by Natalie Schilling is one part engaging history of the English language in the United States and one part fascinating survey of regional dialects and their features.

People have strong opinions on linguistics and what is and isn't "proper" English, and they usually all have one thing in common; they've never attended a lecture from a "proper" course on linguistics. I was surprised with this course, and others I've taken on the topic, that real linguistics professors tend to be way more laid back about the subject of what is and isn't the proper way to use a language. It makes sense when you consider that languages are like everything else. They change and evolve to better suit the times—and that is a good thing!

Micro Mention "Pimsleur Spanish 1"

Remember foreign language class in high school? If you're like me, it probably didn't go well, and after years of rote learning, you only know how to say "hello," "goodbye," "where is the toilet?" "Pimsleur Spanish Level 1" way exceeded my expectations.

I can tell you from my experience with this program after sticking with it, and completing the whole course, a lot more of the language has stuck in my head. I used to have extreme difficultly following even the simplest conversation in Spanish. Now it's merely challenging, which gives me high hopes for the second level.