Learn · TED

Talk15 min

Why language is humanity's greatest invention

David Peterson · TED

Watch At TED

About

Civilization rests upon the existence of language, says language creator David Peterson. In a talk that's equal parts passionate and hilarious, he shows how studying, preserving and inventing new languages helps us understand our collective humanity -- and gives a quick lesson on High Valyrian, one of two languages he created for "Game of Thrones" (along with Dothraki). "Language is not merely a tool," he says. "It is our legacy, it's our way of conveying what it means to be human."

The talk

  1. Why language is humanity's greatest invention 15 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
TEDxBerkeley
Speaker
David Peterson
Year
2019
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Literature and writing, Languages and linguistics, Art, architecture and design
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed