# Why I Think Linguistics Is Amazing. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 1, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189 "2003-12-01T04:43:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/1 "2003-12-01T04:43:46Z")
Because kids are born with the ability to hear every sound that humans are capable of producing. Because at about six months this narrows down to whatever sounds are present in the kid’s native language. Because we can communicate like no other species. Because I can say “I like strawberry jam” and someone reading or listening to that knows exactly what it means, and that is quite frankly stunning. Because no language is object-initial. Because there are universals, and there are tendancies that appear in so many languages that you ultimate have to sit back and figure that it says a lot about all of us. Because we’re trying to preserve dying languages. Now, why can’t I get all of this emotional hand-waving and awe into a coherent essay? Bah. ---
**Author:** ![owlofcreamcheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@owlofcreamcheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlofcreamcheese)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/2 "2003-12-01T05:15:45Z")
I’ve always been less amazed that you can say “I like strawberry jam” and have people understand. I’m always seriously in awe that I can type: I liketh starwberrys jamm. and most people can still understand. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/3 "2003-12-01T05:15:55Z")
Colorless green dreams sleep furiously. ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/4 "2003-12-01T05:19:26Z")
It’s actually “ideas,” not “dreams.” But SEE? Isn’t this fucking amazing? \ ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/5 "2003-12-01T05:32:04Z")
OK, then time flies like an arrow, and fruit flies like a banana. There are some interesting essays on language in [The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140047433/104-5719189-6240748?v=glance) by Lewis Thomas. BTW–like most fields, I imagine complexity theory will open up huge new vistas in linguistics. What is language if not a self-adapting complex system? ---
**Author:** ![Sinungaling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Sinungaling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinungaling)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/6 "2003-12-01T06:31:06Z")
That’s, “Colorful ideas sleep furiously.” Really, now, you’re making Noam Chomsky cry. And I think it’s remarkable that we can understand the same sentence across different accents, tones, sexes, ages, and so on. Which is one of the difficulties computer voice programs have that any child can surmount. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/7 "2003-12-01T06:48:29Z")
No! No! It is _Sweet green dreams sleep furiously._ But that is a memory for almost forty years ago. I will have to do a search to be sure about the “sweet.” ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/8 "2003-12-01T07:03:30Z")
Ha! Interesting results. The correct answer depends on the website. Responses that I found: 1. Colorless green dreams sleep furiously. 2. Vicious green dreams sleep furiously. 3. Transparent green dreams sleep furiously. 4. Curious green dreams sleep furiously. (This one sounds familiar to me and I believe that was what was in the text. I think it was my professor that was _sweet_ and I had remembered him as being a little curious.) ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/9 "2003-12-01T07:04:01Z")
Nah, it’s not so amazing. ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/10 "2003-12-01T07:14:02Z")
Hey OP, this here’s a language nut’s dream: [http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/11/18/whistle.language.ap/](http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/11/18/whistle.language.ap/) How cool is THAT?! ---
**Author:** ![Sinungaling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Sinungaling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinungaling)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/11 "2003-12-01T07:34:03Z")
It might have been “colorless,” but I can guarantee the rest. My perfesser said so anyway. Oh, are we sharing websites? Okay, here you go:[Language Miniatures](http://home.bluemarble.net/~langmin/). That should last you for a day, maybe a bit longer. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/12 "2003-12-01T09:29:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by owlofcreamcheese \* > \*\*I liketh starwberrys jamm. \*\* With ab owl of cream cheese onn de syde. ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/13 "2003-12-01T10:52:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*1. Colorless green dreams sleep furiously. > 2. Vicious green dreams sleep furiously. > 3. Transparent green dreams sleep furiously. > 4. Curious green dreams sleep furiously. \*\*5. Sweet dreams are made of these. To me, linguistics is intriguing. Not that I know a whole lot. But it seems to be quite a common curiosity. How many of Cecil’s columns are on etymologies? ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/14 "2003-12-01T10:55:39Z")
Scratch #5 in the previous post. It’s probably not correct. I don’t want to contradict anyone; especially with smart-alec and annoying antics. _Who am I to disagree?_ ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/15 "2003-12-01T11:20:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andygirl \* > **Because kids are born with the ability to hear every sound that humans are capable of producing. > Because at about six months this narrows down to whatever sounds are present in the kid’s native language.** Huh? I can still hear clicks, whistles, groans, guttural noises, and a variety of other sounds in foreign languages. I just can’t pronounce them well. ---
**Author:** ![acrossthesea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@acrossthesea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acrossthesea)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/16 "2003-12-01T11:32:29Z")
The IDEA of linguistics is awesome. However the class in it I took in college nearly put me to sleep each time. This again proved my theory that some things are better studied on your own time than in a classroom setting. Course it all depends on the professor. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/17 "2003-12-01T12:09:07Z")
No language is object-initial??? What about [Ongota](http://www.linguistlist.org/issues/14/14-1892.html)? Or Tlingit? Or … umm … I think it’s called Haxkiriama (but can’t find an online reference for that, so I’m probably spelling it wrong)? And I always heard it as “Colourless green ideas sleep furiously”. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/18 "2003-12-01T13:20:04Z")
Language is the only entrance to humanity. A foreign language learned is a paradigm shift for an individual and their own culture. Rebuild the tower for the right reason this time. Pinnacle to Peace. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/19 "2003-12-01T13:23:48Z")
What does object-initial mean? ---
**Author:** ![universe.zip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@universe.zip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/universe.zip)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189/20 "2003-12-01T14:31:48Z")
**SnoopyFan** , that´s _way_ cool! Gotta go to Gomera… **andygirl** , thanks for summing that up so nicely. Linguistics is just - beautiful. Another thing I love about languages are the words, and thus, concepts, that exist in only one language. The way another language can give you a totally different outlook on the world. The way you can express something simply and beautifully in one language that would sound awkward in another. I think languages are the most amazing and beautiful thing there is. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-think-linguistics-is-amazing/216189.md?page=2)