Linguistics PhD student Emily Rae Sabo, a local standup comedian, will be one of three presenters at June’s Nerd Nite Ann Arbor, sponsored by the Ann Arbor District Library. Emily will present “10 Things You Need to Know about Language.” The free event will take place at LIVE, 102 S First Street, on Thursday, June 20. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Presentations begin at 7 p.m.


ABSTRACT

10 Things You Need to Know about Language
by Emily Rae Sabo

You speak a language, so you know everything about how language works, right? Wrong! In this talk, we’ll cover the Top 10 things most people don’t know about language. In doing so, I’ll dispel several common myths and reveal some fascinating facts about the systems we use every day to communicate with each other. If you’ve ever wondered how many languages there are in the world, why language death is on the rise, where grammar comes from, or how is it that kids learn language so effortlessly – this talk is for you! Alternatively, if you simply find yourself in need of a few high-quality conversation starters for your upcoming work party, this talk will prepare you to explain what exactly the Bilingual Advantage is, why British accents sound smart, how whistled languages work, whether Spanglish is a language, which high-profile court case was a glaring example of linguistic discrimination, and why English spelling is such a mess.