“The Revelatory Power of Language”

Why is it important to learn about and study language? In this short podcast, “The Revelatory Power of Language,” which I produced for the Maryland Humanities Council’s “Humanities Connection” series, I talk about how language differences occur naturally and are part of how we define ourselves, individually as well as socially. Whether we drink soda or pop, whether we pronounce aunt as “ant” or “ahnt,” or Baltimore as “Bawlmer” or “Baldamor,” whether we use isn’t or ain’t, language tells us something about who we are as speakers of the ever-changing English language. The podcast is also available on the website of the UMBC Dresher Center for the Humanities.