Steven Pinker: What our language habits reveal

Summary

The script discusses the role of L'Académie française in regulating the French language, highlighting the futility of such efforts against the natural evolution of language. It delves into the complexities of verb usage in language, revealing how our unconscious cognition governs sentence structure, reflecting fundamental concepts akin to Kantian categories. The speaker explores metaphorical abstraction in language and its connection to human thought, emphasizing the social utility of language in negotiating relationships through indirect speech acts, thus providing insights into human nature.

Takeaways

• 🎓 Maurice Druon is the Honorary Perpetual Secretary of L'Academie française, an institution with the responsibility of maintaining the French language and its correct usage.
• 📚 L'Academie française works on two main tasks: compiling an official French dictionary and legislating on correct language usage, such as the proper term for 'email' in French.
• 🔍 The Academy's efforts to standardize language are met with resistance, as seen in the disregard for their recommendations on terms like 'World Wide Web'.
• 🌐 Language is a product of human interaction rather than legislation, and it evolves through constant changes, including the emergence of new slang and jargon.
• 📝 The speaker is working on a book that explores language as a window into human nature, focusing on cognitive machinery and relationship types in human interaction.
• 🔧 A key technical problem in language involves understanding verb constructions, which are fundamental to sentence structure and meaning.
• 🚫 Some verbs do not fit neatly into expected constructions, indicating that constructions are not synonymous and have subtle differences in meaning.
• 🤔 The speaker suggests that the ability to interpret language relies on understanding fine-grained conceptual structures, akin to a 'language of thought'.
• 💡 Language reflects fundamental concepts such as space, time, causation, and human intention, which are reminiscent of Kantian categories.
• 📬 English verb constructions are used metaphorically, extending their use beyond literal transfer of objects to the transfer of ideas.
• 💬 Indirect speech acts, like veiled bribes or threats, are common and serve to negotiate relationships while maintaining plausible deniability.
• 🤝 Language is used at two levels: the literal form for signaling relationships and the implicated content for conveying the actual message in context.
• 🌟 The vagueness of language is a feature that aids in social interactions, allowing for the negotiation of complex human relationships.

Q & A

Who is Maurice Druon and what is his significance in the context of the French Academy?

Maurice Druon is the Honorary Perpetual Secretary of L'Académie française, the French Academy. He is significant as he represents the Academy's role in legislating correct usage in the French language and perpetuating its evolution.

What are the two main tasks of the French Academy as mentioned in the script?

The two main tasks of the French Academy are to compile a dictionary of official French and to legislate on correct usage of the language.

What is the status of the French Academy's dictionary project as of the time of the script?

As of the time of the script, the French Academy is working on their ninth edition of the dictionary, which they began in 1930 and have reached the letter P.

How does the script describe the French's attitude towards the Academy's recommendations on language usage?

The script describes the French's attitude as one of ignoring the Academy's recommendations, such as the proper term for 'email' being 'courriel' and the World Wide Web being referred to as 'la toile d'araignee mondiale'.

What is the script's perspective on the idea of language being legislated by an academy?

The script suggests that the idea of language being legislated by an academy is a 'rather silly conceit', as language emerges from human minds interacting with one another and is subject to constant change.

What role does the script suggest language plays in relation to human nature?

The script suggests that language is not so much a creator or shaper of human nature, but rather a 'window onto human nature'.

What technical problem in language does the speaker discuss in the script?

The speaker discusses the problem of determining which verbs go in which constructions, such as intransitive and transitive verbs, and the challenges this presents for language learning, teaching, and computational language processing.

How does the script differentiate between the dative construction 'give the X to the Y' and 'give the Y the X'?

The script differentiates the two by explaining that 'give the X to the Y' corresponds to the thought 'cause X to go to Y', while 'give the Y the X' corresponds to 'cause Y to have X', indicating a subtle difference in meaning.

What is the script's explanation for the existence of idiosyncratic exceptions in language constructions?

The script explains that these exceptions exist because the constructions, despite initial appearances, are not synonymous and have subtle differences in meaning that reflect different ways of construing events.

What conclusions does the speaker draw from the analysis of English verbs in the script?

The speaker concludes that there is a level of fine-grained conceptual structure that governs our use of language, which seems to reflect fundamental concepts such as space, time, causation, and human intention, and that language often uses metaphorical abstraction.

What is the puzzle of indirect speech acts presented in the script?

The puzzle of indirect speech acts is why bribes, polite requests, solicitations, and threats are often veiled, given that both parties understand the intended meaning, suggesting a deeper social function of language.

How does the script relate the use of indirect language to human social interactions?

The script relates indirect language to the negotiation and maintenance of relationships, suggesting that language operates at two levels: the literal form signaling the safest relationship, and the implicated content allowing for context-relevant interpretations.

What is the script's view on the role of vagueness in language?

The script views the vagueness of language as a feature, not a bug, which we use to our advantage in social interactions, allowing for plausible deniability and the negotiation of complex social dynamics.