Why Do We Talk?
7.85
Ratings: 7.85/10 from 33 users.
Talking is something that is unique to humans, yet it still remains a mystery.
Why Do We Talk? meets the scientists beginning to unlock the secrets of speech - including a father who is filming every second of his son's first three years in order to discover how we learn to talk, the autistic savant who can speak more than 20 languages, and the first scientist to identify a gene that makes speech possible.
Horizon also hears from the godfather of linguistics, Noam Chomsky, the first to suggest that our ability to talk is innate.
A unique experiment shows how a new alien language can emerge in just one afternoon, in a bid to understand where language comes from and why it is the way it is.
Talking is something that is unique to humans -- NOT!!! This statement is arrogant, ignorant , erroneous and speciesist.
"Talking" [which can be defined as a series of audible sounds to facilitate communication] is inherent to every living being. In fact, homo sapiens are the least skilled at it. When you consider that several species can communicate almost as a single unit -- take birds and marine mammals acting in unison with split second precision; it seems obvious they are far more advanced -- to the point of telepathic abilities -- than we are. And given our ongoing massive ego regarding our place in the ecosystem, it is unlikely we will ever progress to the enlightened state which non-humans have already achieved.
I need help with today today life anybody out there
how do I cite this?
why do we comunicate? for the plesure of prolonged feuds :D
@Yavanna No. Stop it.
@LOLAWONKA "Realizing, of course, that words are just sounds." Close, but not exactly true. Take a look at "cognitive semantics" and "lexical semantics". Words go far beyond the sound level. Also, you might look into the difference between "phonetics" and "phonology" and you will see there are even multiple levels of treating sounds in language.
derp! read all my comments
oh sorry lolz i didn't see that you said it was a joke.
Why do we talk? I think the better question would be HOW do we talk? Realizing, of course, that words are just sounds. And that what you may recognize in your language is completely inrecognizable in another language. So it makes you wonder how we can communicate at all. I don't think I want to see this. It seems pointless.
Why even post a comment then..? LOL people are sad beings sometimes..
"Why do we TALK?"... Sheesh! ... How else am I supposed to blame you for all my misery???!!!
In the documentary "The day we learned to think" It says that speach and languange is what thinking is.
So the more evolved the languange is the further you can think, or the smarter you are? Are all language equaly evolved?
This evolving language is basicly what evoling our intelligence, or a big part of it.
I think its more like language allows us to communicate our intellect, language structure allows us to share it more precisely. As with the language experiment in the end, If I tell you a fruit is poison in a nonsensical language, you may get the gist of what I am saying by other social queues and a game of charades, however with structure, you and others can understand precisely and immediately and likewise share that knowledge. So yeah, it is evolving our intelligence but likely not our specific capacity for it.
I just saw my first chinese commercial, I dint know they had KFC in china. Yummmmm... nothing else like those juicy genetically-mutated chickens.
I think it is a really interesting documentary. Why do we talk is an interesting question but I would like to see a documentary about how do we talk. How do we learn to use this thing called language to communicate with others in our 1st language community? I would love to get my hands on the footage that the scientist took of his son. Hidden in that footage must be examples of how we develop prosody, pragmatic, socio cultural and strategic elements of language and that is definitely based on nurture. How could I get this recorded data, is it on the Net somewhere?
that's it's!!!! our brain reward us for picking up patterns. proof is in our music. animal can also do that but were just better at it, i think. that's how you learned when you a baby right? through reoccurring sequences.
And I definitely had a good laugh :-D
My comment was for Hardy's benefit....
Yavanna, did you watch it?
haha, the experiment at the end was very clever!
good documentary, althouhg i skipped the middle because the begining and the end are the most important :P
peace
God gave us the ability to talk. What's wrong with you people!!!!
Jesus....there really are people like you p:
You're trolling a comment I made over a year ago. A comment I made as a joke? Jesus..... there REALLY are people like you :(
Awesome, thank you for all the nice documentaries :)
I just can't WAIT for the religion-discussion here :-)
Until then - nice doc, well worth watching.
Although ethically corrupt, I really do believe most if not all of the questions raised in this doc could be answered via a series of generational "forbidden experiments". I mean, wouldn't that completely shut down the whole "nature vs. nurture" argument on all fronts for good?
This doc is a masterpiece a truly wonderful well made well researched and well composed doc ihave ever seen in my life this doc has shown me that we are a few steps a part from solving the big picture of our origen and our future an extra ordinary doc that is a most see for all of you criminal minded scientists out there and iam including all of our potheads to.A truly amazing doc
watch this and find the joy in finding things out :) a thx to this site and thanx to vlatko for sharing this.ty :)