23. Language
Stanford3 HN recommenders · recommended in 3 months, 2015–2024
lecture · intermediate · evergreen · 2015–2024 on HN
Robert Sapolsky's Stanford lecture on language, comparing human and animal communication, ape language projects like Koko and Kanzi, and how language is acquired. It is part of his human behavioral biology course.
HN recommends it, and the whole course, for understanding the brain and language acquisition.
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4 comments from Hacker News
This is well known and well studied. I highly recommend Sapolksy’s lecture on this: ▶ this video Start at 12:14 for the relevant topic, but the entire lecture is a good watch.
If I remember correctly, when you learn a new language after age 10, the brain encodes the new language in a region adjacent to the one where your mother language is encoded, which means that any localized injury on this part of the brain may impact your ability to speak just one of them. Source: Sapolsky's lecture about language: ▶ this video If you want to understand better how the brain works, I really recommend watching the whole course.
Robert Sapolsky's lecture, mentioned in the article, wherein he discusses ape language projects, is a good watch: ▶ this video He completely dismisses Koko but considers Kanzi to be more credible.
On the recorded lectures from Robert Sapolsky, he talks about motherese being both about teaching language and expressing emotion. The aspect of language is absent when people "talk" to their pets. ▶ this video