0:00:08.216,0:00:11.484
A big part of why I work[br]with endangered languages,

0:00:11.508,0:00:14.994
is because I am myself[br]a descendant of a speech community

0:00:15.018,0:00:17.198
that even today[br]is struggling to survive.

0:00:17.222,0:00:18.489
Look at the name over there,

0:00:18.513,0:00:20.744
you can probably guess[br]which one it is.

0:00:21.253,0:00:23.410
But, for many of my friends,

0:00:23.434,0:00:25.224
language loss[br]is much more immediate,

0:00:25.248,0:00:26.740
much more intense.

0:00:26.764,0:00:30.552
For them, it's loss of a chunk[br]of their sovereignty.

0:00:31.252,0:00:32.990
A connection to their past.

0:00:33.014,0:00:35.225
A connection to their cultural wealth.

0:00:35.249,0:00:37.524
A grounding in their history.

0:00:38.484,0:00:41.785
In my work, I've seen[br]time and time again,

0:00:42.255,0:00:45.227
just how wrenching it can be

0:00:45.251,0:00:47.491
for parent and child,

0:00:47.515,0:00:49.243
a grandparent and a grandchild,

0:00:49.267,0:00:51.481
to become disconnected[br]in a way that goes

0:00:51.505,0:00:54.542
far beyond any kind[br]of natural generation gap.

0:00:56.502,0:00:58.219
But even if you care,

0:00:58.243,0:01:00.497
even if you sympathize,[br]you may think,

0:01:00.521,0:01:03.476
"Well, endangered languages[br]just aren't worth saving."

0:01:03.500,0:01:07.775
Because you probably think[br]they'll cost a fair bit to save.

0:01:09.258,0:01:13.034
Not just money,[br]but also time, energy and attention.

0:01:13.058,0:01:15.489
And these are things[br]that're all in short supply these days.

0:01:15.513,0:01:18.172
Especially so for a lot[br]of these communities,

0:01:18.196,0:01:20.545
which are often faced with[br]even more immediate,

0:01:20.569,0:01:25.478
even more material challenges.[br]But what if it cost next to nothing?

0:01:25.502,0:01:28.228
Next to nothing[br]to learn a new language?

0:01:28.252,0:01:30.224
What if we could radically reduce

0:01:30.248,0:01:31.781
linguistic entry costs?

0:01:32.241,0:01:35.739
Well then the arguments[br]against sustaining linguistic diversity,

0:01:35.763,0:01:37.737
would not sound so reasonable.

0:01:37.761,0:01:38.994
Because all of us

0:01:39.018,0:01:41.474
could easily jump[br]from language to language,

0:01:41.498,0:01:43.730
just to show respect[br]to our host or our guest.

0:01:43.754,0:01:45.752
Or to enjoy the expressive capacities

0:01:45.776,0:01:47.749
that this particular language allows us.

0:01:47.773,0:01:50.729
Or simply because between you and me,

0:01:50.753,0:01:53.779
this language is the one[br]I feel the most like home.

0:01:54.229,0:01:55.514
So the obvious question is,

0:01:55.538,0:01:57.765
how long does it take[br]to learn a new language?

0:01:57.789,0:01:58.762
Not perfectly,

0:01:58.786,0:02:01.308
not you know, without a single error,

0:02:01.332,0:02:04.351
not even fluently, but just enough[br]to get your foot in the door.

0:02:04.375,0:02:05.463
Enough to get started,

0:02:05.488,0:02:09.223
to get going, enough to join[br]that speech community and be part of it.

0:02:09.247,0:02:11.002
Well, in my experience,

0:02:11.026,0:02:12.524
it's about a week or so.

0:02:13.274,0:02:14.499
And you know,

0:02:14.523,0:02:16.992
I was just as shocked[br]as you to discover this.

0:02:17.016,0:02:22.214
In the summer of 2003,[br]after just 10 days in Bulgaria

0:02:22.238,0:02:23.218
with my new in-laws,

0:02:23.242,0:02:24.724
I was able to talk well enough

0:02:24.748,0:02:26.788
to translate for my sister when she came.

0:02:26.812,0:02:29.452
And then the same thing happened[br]again the next summer.

0:02:29.476,0:02:31.697
I went to the Czech Republic[br]for my cousin's wedding,

0:02:31.721,0:02:34.729
showed up about a week early,[br]and by the time the wedding rolled around,

0:02:34.753,0:02:37.525
I was just chatting away[br]with all my new Czech relatives.

0:02:38.255,0:02:41.736
I wasn't fluent and I wasn't flawless[br]but I was effective.

0:02:41.760,0:02:43.755
Now real fluency, in my experience,

0:02:43.779,0:02:45.247
does take a long time,

0:02:45.271,0:02:47.717
does take hanging out[br]with the speech community.

0:02:47.741,0:02:51.755
But still, just one week and change

0:02:51.779,0:02:53.491
to get a foot in the door.

0:02:53.515,0:02:55.212
To be able to party with the chicks.

0:02:55.236,0:02:56.986
To be able to hang on Bulgarian cafes

0:02:57.010,0:02:58.784
and order French fries with aplomb.

0:02:59.994,0:03:02.335
That seemed like an idea worth sharing.

0:03:02.359,0:03:04.479
Now of course,[br]I'm a trained field linguist,

0:03:04.503,0:03:06.666
so you probably think,[br]"You're self selected.

0:03:06.690,0:03:09.737
You've got experience.[br]You've got talent." Right?

0:03:09.761,0:03:10.753
But when I do it,

0:03:11.503,0:03:13.733
it doesn't feel at all like talent,

0:03:13.757,0:03:15.477
and not much like experience either.

0:03:15.501,0:03:18.980
All it feels like is a really clear[br]sense of what to do.

0:03:19.004,0:03:21.972
How to handle vocabulary,[br]pronunciation, grammar,

0:03:21.996,0:03:23.326
and more than anything else,

0:03:23.350,0:03:25.557
how to make it through any conversation.

0:03:27.740,0:03:30.200
And this is what I think we're missing

0:03:30.224,0:03:31.729
when we struggle with languages.

0:03:31.753,0:03:33.941
When we fall to learn languages.

0:03:34.241,0:03:36.057
We all get taught languages,

0:03:36.081,0:03:38.581
but we don't get taught[br]how to learn languages.

0:03:38.668,0:03:41.048
I've been working on that[br]for quite some time.

0:03:41.073,0:03:43.147
On how to translate the experience,

0:03:43.171,0:03:46.086
the skill set of a trained field linguist[br]into a form that anybody,

0:03:46.110,0:03:48.219
any of you can pick up quickly

0:03:48.243,0:03:51.719
and use to become active learners,[br]confident learners,

0:03:51.743,0:03:57.741
who can step right out into the street,[br]the scary street of real-life language use

0:03:58.501,0:04:00.281
with very little fear.

0:04:01.191,0:04:02.439
And if we can do this,

0:04:02.463,0:04:03.740
then it doesn't just change

0:04:03.764,0:04:05.746
how you and me learn languages,

0:04:05.770,0:04:08.477
but it also has the potential[br]to radically reshape

0:04:08.501,0:04:12.491
how linguistic majorities[br]and linguistic minorities

0:04:12.515,0:04:14.690
can live and work together[br]in the same world.

0:04:15.240,0:04:17.728
Because now,[br]separate linguistic traditions

0:04:17.753,0:04:19.725
are no longer communicative obstacles,

0:04:19.749,0:04:21.454
but actually resources.

0:04:21.478,0:04:23.740
Social, cultural, intellectual,

0:04:23.764,0:04:28.916
even emotional resources[br]that we can all share and enjoy together.

0:04:29.265,0:04:31.781
So, how do we do it?[br]How do we get that foot in the door?

0:04:31.806,0:04:33.204
At least that foot in the door.

0:04:33.229,0:04:34.496
First and foremost,

0:04:34.521,0:04:36.895
what we need to understand[br]is our own psychology.

0:04:36.919,0:04:40.160
We need to understand that it's the social[br]and the emotional aspects

0:04:40.184,0:04:42.142
of language learning[br]that decide everything.

0:04:42.166,0:04:44.222
Because when we first start[br]to learn a language,

0:04:44.246,0:04:46.915
it's humiliating.[br]Embarrassing. It's frustrating.

0:04:47.735,0:04:51.084
So this gets you guys all rushing[br]at the door to go learn a language.

0:04:51.564,0:04:54.223
But this is because as adults,[br]as teenagers,

0:04:54.247,0:04:57.738
we measure ourselves on how well[br]we can present ourselves with our words.

0:04:57.762,0:04:59.786
And in a new language[br]we lose that control,

0:04:59.810,0:05:01.856
and we run screaming away from that.

0:05:01.880,0:05:03.356
We dodge conversations.

0:05:03.380,0:05:04.990
We hide on a linguistic sideline.

0:05:05.014,0:05:07.798
We do anything to avoid[br]a simple face-to-face conversation,

0:05:07.822,0:05:11.039
which is the one thing, the only thing[br]that's going to make us better.

0:05:11.063,0:05:14.967
And as English speakers in today's world,[br]the world is very accommodating of that.

0:05:14.991,0:05:16.702
It makes it very easy for us

0:05:16.726,0:05:19.214
to indulge in our instinct to just bailout

0:05:19.238,0:05:21.535
when we get linguistic stage fright.

0:05:22.275,0:05:23.370
So what do we do?

0:05:23.395,0:05:25.035
Well, the short answer is,

0:05:25.059,0:05:27.288
we learn to check our shame at the door.

0:05:27.718,0:05:29.991
We learn to embrace this loss of control,

0:05:30.015,0:05:31.723
enjoy the fact that we've been

0:05:31.747,0:05:33.205
--more or less involuntarily--

0:05:33.229,0:05:35.572
given a second childhood[br]in a new language.

0:05:36.252,0:05:37.339
Right?

0:05:39.966,0:05:41.355
So, if we can do this,

0:05:42.500,0:05:45.494
then we have learned to shift our job,

0:05:45.518,0:05:47.469
reframe our job.

0:05:47.493,0:05:50.995
To not from trying to seek out perfection,

0:05:51.019,0:05:52.234
not making any mistakes,

0:05:52.258,0:05:54.518
but instead, just learning to cope well.

0:05:55.208,0:06:00.230
And the best place to learn[br]linguistic coping skills

0:06:00.254,0:06:04.735
is through simply learning[br]how to improvise.

0:06:04.759,0:06:08.732
Learning how to use description,[br]metaphor, analogy.

0:06:08.756,0:06:10.879
To work around the words[br]that we don't know.

0:06:10.903,0:06:14.212
So for example, if I don't know[br]how to say tiger in your language,

0:06:14.236,0:06:18.738
I will say, "It's a thing,[br]it's like a cat but big and orange,

0:06:18.762,0:06:21.491
and the one behind you[br]looks a little bit hungry."

0:06:21.515,0:06:22.891
(Laughter)

0:06:23.282,0:06:25.495
It's these clunky[br]but effective descriptions

0:06:25.519,0:06:30.496
that actually get us through[br]any conversation.

0:06:30.520,0:06:32.983
And when we learn[br]to congratulate ourselves on them,

0:06:33.007,0:06:34.477
when we realize that,

0:06:34.501,0:06:37.604
"Wow, this person actually[br]understood what I said,"

0:06:37.628,0:06:39.230
then we feel good about ourselves.

0:06:39.254,0:06:41.732
We find they understood what I said

0:06:41.756,0:06:43.076
and now, even better,

0:06:43.100,0:06:45.035
they're telling me how to say it right.

0:06:45.059,0:06:47.939
That's a language lesson[br]that we will never ever forget.

0:06:48.500,0:06:49.526
Never.

0:06:49.551,0:06:52.486
So, there's actually[br]a second lesson inside this,

0:06:52.510,0:06:55.492
which is that, language [br]is not all on you.

0:06:55.516,0:06:58.744
When you and I speak together,[br]we make meaning together.

0:06:58.840,0:07:00.031
So learning to cope well

0:07:00.055,0:07:02.503
in an another language,[br]is as much, if not more,

0:07:02.527,0:07:04.741
about learning to lean[br]on the other person's

0:07:04.765,0:07:06.985
full and complete knowledge[br]of the language

0:07:07.009,0:07:10.241
and even more[br]on their willingness to help you

0:07:10.265,0:07:12.294
make this conversation happen.

0:07:12.744,0:07:17.021
So again,[br]if we learn to reframe our task,

0:07:17.045,0:07:18.252
reframe our job,

0:07:18.276,0:07:24.214
as being effective, not perfect,

0:07:24.238,0:07:27.471
then every conversation stops being[br]this potential minefield

0:07:27.495,0:07:30.404
of embarrassing mistakes and errors.

0:07:30.428,0:07:33.547
Instead, it's an exciting place[br]for us to come back to every time.

0:07:33.571,0:07:35.332
Because you get to be your own MacGyver.

0:07:35.356,0:07:37.543
You get to rummage around[br]in your linguistic pockets

0:07:37.567,0:07:40.021
and pull out a toothbrush,[br]a button and a paperclip,

0:07:40.045,0:07:41.475
and couple that all together

0:07:41.499,0:07:44.716
and somehow pull off[br]the communicative job.

0:07:44.740,0:07:45.818
Right?

0:07:45.843,0:07:48.447
When you feel that thrill[br]of being a linguistic hero

0:07:48.471,0:07:49.509
time and time again,

0:07:49.534,0:07:53.004
you come back to conversations,[br]you seek them out, you want to be there.

0:07:53.028,0:07:56.738
And when you approach[br]the task like that, well pretty soon,

0:07:56.762,0:07:58.921
you find yourself fairly close to fluent.

0:07:58.945,0:08:03.320
So that's how we cope[br]with linguistic stage fright.

0:08:03.344,0:08:05.193
With linguistic performance anxiety.

0:08:05.217,0:08:07.746
Which is 90% of what holds us back.

0:08:07.770,0:08:10.516
The only thing left[br]is of course the language.

0:08:11.026,0:08:12.998
All the pronunciation.[br]All the grammar.

0:08:13.022,0:08:14.203
All the vocabulary.

0:08:14.227,0:08:16.361
It's really intimidating,[br]but mostly because

0:08:16.385,0:08:18.484
we're all trying to juggle it all at once.

0:08:18.508,0:08:21.278
We've got no way to organize it.[br]No way to prioritize it.

0:08:21.776,0:08:23.068
There is a way.

0:08:23.092,0:08:27.741
What we need is a simple,[br]practical understanding

0:08:27.765,0:08:29.995
of the design features of language.

0:08:30.019,0:08:32.291
So let me give you[br]just a brief taste of that.

0:08:33.270,0:08:35.014
Take pronunciation.

0:08:35.038,0:08:38.311
Anybody can learn to pronounce[br]any sound in any language of the world.

0:08:38.335,0:08:39.607
Anyone of you. All of you.

0:08:39.631,0:08:41.727
If you don't believe me,[br]it's probably because

0:08:41.751,0:08:44.671
you've heard the following phrase,[br]"Listen and repeat after me."

0:08:44.695,0:08:46.783
That doesn't work. It doesn't work.

0:08:47.493,0:08:50.967
What does work, is learning[br]the clear and simple set of instructions

0:08:50.991,0:08:53.493
for how to move your mouth[br]to make that weird sound.

0:08:53.517,0:08:56.013
After that, all you need[br]is a little bit of exercise

0:08:56.037,0:08:58.411
to work your mouth[br]for that oral choreography.

0:08:58.435,0:09:00.867
And very soon you find[br]that your muscles limber up.

0:09:00.891,0:09:02.468
And what have seemed unfamiliar,

0:09:02.492,0:09:04.497
unpronounceable, unreachable even,

0:09:04.521,0:09:06.737
becomes almost as familiar[br]as every other sound

0:09:06.761,0:09:08.499
you have been saying your whole life.

0:09:08.523,0:09:10.479
So you don't need any special talent.

0:09:10.503,0:09:14.216
You don't need[br]any special ear for language.

0:09:14.240,0:09:15.326
You just don't.

0:09:15.351,0:09:16.472
But even more importantly,

0:09:16.496,0:09:20.224
is rhythm and melody.

0:09:20.248,0:09:22.944
When you go after[br]the distinct cadence of language.

0:09:22.968,0:09:24.775
When you try to internalize that,

0:09:25.485,0:09:27.749
that particular languages uses,

0:09:27.773,0:09:30.510
and use that as the foundation[br]of your own pronunciation,

0:09:30.534,0:09:34.761
well then, it turns out that[br]your own words come out fluently.

0:09:35.781,0:09:37.089
They flow in that cadence.

0:09:37.113,0:09:39.781
The cadence is the current[br]that carries all your words.

0:09:39.805,0:09:41.794
Even better, when you've internalized it

0:09:41.818,0:09:43.750
and you're waiting for it, expecting it,

0:09:43.774,0:09:46.137
then suddenly, something almost[br]miraculous happens.

0:09:46.161,0:09:48.474
Which is that, native speaker speech

0:09:48.498,0:09:49.999
suddenly doesn’t seem so fast.

0:09:50.023,0:09:53.221
Because it's that rhythm and that melody[br]that actually tells you

0:09:53.245,0:09:55.136
where the words begin and end.

0:09:55.160,0:09:57.486
So that's pronunciation,[br]but what about grammar?

0:09:57.510,0:09:59.286
Grammar is terrifying. Right?

0:09:59.746,0:10:01.459
It's only because we teach grammar

0:10:01.483,0:10:04.133
as a million little disconnected[br]arbitrary single rules,

0:10:04.157,0:10:06.469
when in fact grammars[br]are tiny little ecosystems.

0:10:06.493,0:10:08.626
Every little part[br]fits into every little part.

0:10:08.650,0:10:10.916
And if we look at those[br]ecosystems from the top,

0:10:10.940,0:10:12.724
we can see a very helpful simplicity,

0:10:12.748,0:10:14.469
which is that, all of those rules

0:10:14.493,0:10:17.739
fall down on one side or the other[br]of what we do when we talk.

0:10:17.763,0:10:20.232
Which is, we mention general concepts.

0:10:20.256,0:10:22.024
Things like cat and dog.

0:10:22.048,0:10:25.217
Events like bite and chase. Right?

0:10:25.241,0:10:26.975
And then we tie them into

0:10:26.999,0:10:28.714
the specifics of this conversation.

0:10:28.738,0:10:30.483
My cat, your dog,

0:10:30.507,0:10:33.007
that bit me, in yesterday's past tense.

0:10:33.760,0:10:37.326
It turns out all grammatical rules[br]actually fall somewhere along the line

0:10:37.350,0:10:40.234
between the general conceptual[br]and the conversation specific.

0:10:40.258,0:10:42.568
And once you play round[br]with this idea for a while,

0:10:42.592,0:10:45.102
grammatical rules become[br]extremely easy to remember.

0:10:45.126,0:10:47.618
Because now you know[br]where they live in the neighborhood

0:10:47.642,0:10:50.094
and what their relationships[br]are to their neighbors.

0:10:50.118,0:10:53.148
After that, the only thing[br]that's left is vocabulary.

0:10:53.758,0:10:56.372
Dictionaries full of all the words[br]you don't know yet.

0:10:56.396,0:10:59.674
But it turns out, we don't actually need[br]to know that much vocabulary.

0:10:59.699,0:11:01.333
Because we have our coping skills.

0:11:01.358,0:11:03.534
We can talk around the words[br]that we don't know.

0:11:03.559,0:11:07.742
We can listen, from context work out[br]a lot of the new words we're hearing.

0:11:07.766,0:11:09.198
And when all else fails,

0:11:09.222,0:11:12.368
now we know we have license[br]to simply ask for help.

0:11:13.498,0:11:15.902
So what words do we actually[br]need to learn first?

0:11:18.232,0:11:20.481
The short words.[br]The small words.

0:11:20.505,0:11:22.868
The little linking words.[br]"Thing" is one of them.

0:11:24.238,0:11:28.994
The words like: and, or, but, of, the,[br]who, what, when, where and why.

0:11:29.018,0:11:32.036
Because these'll get you[br]the most expressive bang for your buck.

0:11:32.060,0:11:35.743
These're the words that'll save you[br]when you need to deep in the conversation.

0:11:35.767,0:11:37.586
You know exactly what you want to say,

0:11:37.610,0:11:38.739
then you hit this wall

0:11:38.763,0:11:41.572
because you realize you've not learned[br]the word "almost".

0:11:42.272,0:11:44.237
(Laughter)

0:11:44.261,0:11:46.477
When you focus on those words[br]from the get-go,

0:11:46.501,0:11:49.757
you find you've the frame,[br]the outlines of language up and running,

0:11:49.781,0:11:52.775
and then there's only one thing left:[br]the rest of the language.

0:11:53.265,0:11:55.580
And there's a trick for this.

0:11:56.210,0:11:58.206
To prioritize the rest of vocabulary,

0:11:58.230,0:11:59.762
get what you need first,

0:11:59.786,0:12:02.718
you can start with[br]the egocentric experience of the body.

0:12:02.742,0:12:04.720
You say okay, my eyes, they see.

0:12:04.744,0:12:07.751
They see and they look.[br]My ears, they listen and they hear.

0:12:07.774,0:12:09.584
My hands, they pick up and put down.

0:12:09.609,0:12:13.376
My mind, it knows, it feels,[br]it loves, it understands,

0:12:13.401,0:12:15.273
and when it tries to learn a language,

0:12:15.297,0:12:17.639
sometimes it remembers[br]and sometimes it forgets.

0:12:17.773,0:12:22.114
When you get these words, these core[br]verbs of interaction and experience,

0:12:22.138,0:12:24.925
and tie them together[br]with all those little linking words,

0:12:24.949,0:12:27.785
it's a very small set of vocabulary[br]that you actually know,

0:12:27.809,0:12:29.219
but it happens to be precisely

0:12:29.243,0:12:33.747
the set of expressive tools that you need[br]to make your way through any conversation.

0:12:34.737,0:12:38.225
So, I hope that I have convinced you

0:12:38.249,0:12:41.233
that this is not just for linguists.

0:12:41.257,0:12:44.488
Anybody can learn a language.[br]Anybody can get that foot in the door,

0:12:44.512,0:12:46.569
which is the part that really matters.

0:12:47.479,0:12:50.265
You can do it. Right here. Right now.

0:12:51.505,0:12:54.242
All it really takes,

0:12:54.267,0:12:58.123
is a somewhat better sense[br]of where our emotions are at.

0:12:58.148,0:13:00.812
Where our heart is at[br]when we go to learn a language.

0:13:00.837,0:13:02.730
And also a better sense,

0:13:02.754,0:13:05.904
of how language actually[br]does fit into our minds.

0:13:06.675,0:13:07.880
And if this is possible

0:13:07.905,0:13:10.009
it means that joining[br]a new speech community

0:13:10.033,0:13:11.458
is much easier than you think.

0:13:11.482,0:13:15.026
That can take a lot of the pressure off[br]of the people who've been told,

0:13:15.050,0:13:19.741
"You need to abandon your small language[br]in favor of this big large language."

0:13:20.711,0:13:22.218
But there's more.

0:13:22.242,0:13:24.451
Every language that I have ever learned,

0:13:24.475,0:13:27.369
every language[br]that I even started to learn,

0:13:27.393,0:13:31.286
has radically reshaped[br]how I look at the world.

0:13:31.310,0:13:33.260
How I deal with people.

0:13:33.284,0:13:35.995
How I think. And that's lovely.

0:13:36.019,0:13:39.235
But even more important than that,[br]are the people that I've met,

0:13:39.259,0:13:41.481
and the ways I've been able to meet them

0:13:41.505,0:13:43.456
because of learning their language.

0:13:43.480,0:13:44.949
They have changed my life

0:13:44.973,0:13:47.703
in more ways that I can even[br]begin to describe here.

0:13:47.727,0:13:50.216
Up till now, that kind of opportunities

0:13:50.240,0:13:52.772
only have been available[br]to trained linguists

0:13:52.796,0:13:56.474
and the occasional genius savant polyglot.

0:13:56.498,0:13:59.761
But now, we all have the meat.

0:13:59.785,0:14:03.000
And so there's nothing more[br]I can say, except, go for it.

0:14:03.024,0:14:04.025
Good luck.

0:14:04.049,0:14:06.779
(Applause)