Steven Pinker: What our language habits reveal. Viewing guide

Before viewing:

Find out who Stephen Pinker is.

1^st viewing:

1.    How does Pinker start his talk?

2.    What is the verb?

3.    What  example for transitive verbs does he provide?

4.    Why can you say “Sally gave a muffin to the mouse” but you cannot say “Sal gave a headache to Jason”?

5.    What determines which verb goes in each construction?

6.    How are constructions in English used?

7.    Find out what an indirect speech act is.

8.    “We use language at two levels” What levels?

2^nd viewing:

1.    Why is Pinker´s ironic about Maurice Druon?

2.    Does Pinker agree with Druon´s view of language?

3.    Why is the transitivity of verbs problematic?

4.    “Give the muffin to the ground” and ”Give the mouse a muffin”. Do they mean the same? What is the difference?

5.    What do we do every time we utter  a sentence?

6.    Iss the language of thought based on perceptual qualities such as color, texture, weight and speed?

7.    What metaphorical uses of “go” does he provide?

8.     Why does Pinker give the following examples? "ending a pregnancy" versus "killing a fetus;" "a ball of cells" versus "an unborn child;" "invading Iraq" versus "liberating Iraq;" "redistributing wealth" versus "confiscating earnings."

9.    What is the intention behind “Would you like to come up and see my etchings?”

10. “Language is a way of negotiating relationships”. What examples does Pinker provide?

11. What is the advantage of using indirect language?