TEDxBerkeley
David Peterson: Why language is humanity's greatest invention
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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."
David Peterson - Language creator, writer, artist
David Peterson creates languages for television shows, for films and for fun. Full bio
David Peterson creates languages for television shows, for films and for fun. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
Spoons.
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Cardboard boxes.
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Toddler-size electric trains.
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Holiday ornaments.
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Bounce houses.
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Blankets.
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Baskets.
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Carpets.
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Tray tables.
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Smartphones.
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Pianos.
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Robes.
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Photographs.
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What do all of these things
have in common,
have in common,
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aside from the fact they're photos
that I took in the last three months,
that I took in the last three months,
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and therefore, own the copyright to?
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(Laughter)
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They're all inventions
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that were created
with the benefit of language.
with the benefit of language.
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None of these things
would have existed without language.
would have existed without language.
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Imagine creating any one of those things
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or, like, building
an entire building like this,
an entire building like this,
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without being able to use language
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or without benefiting from any knowledge
that was got by the use of language.
that was got by the use of language.
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Basically, language
is the most important thing
is the most important thing
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in the entire world.
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All of our civilization rests upon it.
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And those who devote
their lives to studying it --
their lives to studying it --
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both how language emerged,
how human languages differ,
how human languages differ,
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how they differ from
animal communication systems --
animal communication systems --
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are linguists.
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Formal linguistics is a relatively
young field, more or less.
young field, more or less.
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And it's uncovered a lot
of really important stuff.
of really important stuff.
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Like, for example, that human
communication systems
communication systems
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differ crucially from animal
communication systems,
communication systems,
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that all languages are equally expressive,
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even if they do it in different ways.
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And yet, despite this,
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there are a lot of people
who just love to pop off about language
who just love to pop off about language
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like they have an equal
understanding of it as a linguist,
understanding of it as a linguist,
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because, of course, they speak a language.
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And if you speak a language,
that means you have just as much right
that means you have just as much right
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to talk about its function
as anybody else.
as anybody else.
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Imagine if you were talking to a surgeon,
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and you say, "Listen, buddy.
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I've had a heart for, like, 40 years now.
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I think I know a thing or two
about aortic valve replacements.
about aortic valve replacements.
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I think my opinion
is just as valid as yours."
is just as valid as yours."
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And yet, that's exactly what happens.
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This is Neil deGrasse Tyson,
saying that in the film "Arrival,"
saying that in the film "Arrival,"
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he would have brought a cryptographer --
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somebody who can unscramble a message
in a language they already know --
in a language they already know --
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rather than a linguist,
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to communicate with the aliens,
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because what would a linguist --
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why would that be useful
in talking to somebody
in talking to somebody
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speaking a language we don't even know?
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Though, of course, the "Arrival" film
is not off the hook.
is not off the hook.
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I mean, come on --
listen, film. Hey, buddy:
listen, film. Hey, buddy:
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there are aliens that come down
to our planet in gigantic ships,
to our planet in gigantic ships,
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and they want to do nothing
except for communicate with us,
except for communicate with us,
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and you hire one linguist?
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(Laughter)
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What's the US government
on a budget or something?
on a budget or something?
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(Laughter)
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A lot of these things can be
chalked up to misunderstandings,
chalked up to misunderstandings,
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both about what language is
and about the formal study of language,
and about the formal study of language,
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about linguistics.
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And I think there's something that
underlies a lot of these misunderstandings
underlies a lot of these misunderstandings
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that can be summed up
by this delightful article in "Forbes,"
by this delightful article in "Forbes,"
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about why high school students
shouldn't learn foreign languages.
shouldn't learn foreign languages.
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I'm going to pull out
some quotes from this,
some quotes from this,
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and I want you to see
if you can figure out
if you can figure out
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what underlies some
of these opinions and ideas.
of these opinions and ideas.
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"Americans rarely read the classics,
even in translation."
even in translation."
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So in other words, why bother
learning a foreign language
learning a foreign language
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when they're not even going to read
the classic in the original anyway?
the classic in the original anyway?
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What's the point?
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"Studying foreign languages in school
is a waste of time,
is a waste of time,
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compared to other things
that you could be doing in school."
that you could be doing in school."
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"Europe has a lot of language groups
clustered in a relatively small space."
clustered in a relatively small space."
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So for Americans, ah, what's the point
of learning another language?
of learning another language?
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You're not really going to get
a lot of bang for your buck out of that.
a lot of bang for your buck out of that.
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This is my favorite,
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"A student in Birmingham
would have to travel
would have to travel
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about a thousand miles
to get to the Mexican border,
to get to the Mexican border,
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and even then, there would be enough
people who speak English to get around."
people who speak English to get around."
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In other words, if you can
kind of wave your arms around,
kind of wave your arms around,
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and you can get to where you're going,
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then there's really no point
in learning another language anyway.
in learning another language anyway.
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What underlies a lot of these attitudes
is the conceptual metaphor,
is the conceptual metaphor,
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language is a tool.
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And there's something that rings
very true about this metaphor.
very true about this metaphor.
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Language is kind of a tool
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in that, if you know the local language,
you can do more than if you didn't.
you can do more than if you didn't.
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But the implication is that
language is only a tool,
language is only a tool,
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and this is absolutely false.
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If language was a tool,
it would honestly be a pretty poor tool.
it would honestly be a pretty poor tool.
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And we would have abandoned it long ago
for something that was a lot better.
for something that was a lot better.
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Think about just any sentence.
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Here's a sentence that I'm sure I've said
in my life: "Yesterday I saw Kyn."
in my life: "Yesterday I saw Kyn."
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I have a friend named Kyn.
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And when I say this sentence,
"Yesterday I saw Kyn,"
"Yesterday I saw Kyn,"
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do you think it's really the case
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that everything in my mind
is now implanted in your mind
is now implanted in your mind
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via this sentence?
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Hardly, because there's a lot
of other stuff going on.
of other stuff going on.
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Like, when I say "yesterday,"
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I might think what the weather
was like yesterday because I was there.
was like yesterday because I was there.
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And if I'm remembering,
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I'll probably remember there was something
I forgot to mail, which I did.
I forgot to mail, which I did.
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This was a preplanned joke,
but I really did forget to mail something.
but I really did forget to mail something.
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And so that means
I'm going to have to do it Monday,
I'm going to have to do it Monday,
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because that's when
I'm going to get back home.
I'm going to get back home.
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And of course, when I think of Monday,
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I'll think of "Manic Monday"
by the Bangles. It's a good song.
by the Bangles. It's a good song.
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And when I say the word "saw,"
I think of this phrase:
I think of this phrase:
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"'I see!' said the blind man
as he picked up his hammer and saw."
as he picked up his hammer and saw."
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I always do.
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Anytime I hear the word "saw" or say it,
I always think of that,
I always think of that,
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because my grandfather
always used to say it,
always used to say it,
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so it makes me think of my grandfather.
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And we're back to "Manic Monday"
again, for some reason.
again, for some reason.
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And with Kyn, when I'm saying
something like, "Yesterday I saw Kyn,"
something like, "Yesterday I saw Kyn,"
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I'll think of the circumstances
under which I saw him.
under which I saw him.
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And this happened to be that day.
Here he is with my cat.
Here he is with my cat.
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And of course, if I'm thinking of Kyn,
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I'll think he's going to
Long Beach State right now,
Long Beach State right now,
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and I'll remember that
my good friend John and my mother
my good friend John and my mother
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both graduated from Long Beach State,
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my cousin Katie is going to
Long Beach State right now.
Long Beach State right now.
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And it's "Manic Monday" again.
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But this is just a fraction
of what's going on in your head
of what's going on in your head
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at any given time while you are speaking.
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And all we have to represent
the entire mess
the entire mess
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that is going on in our head, is this.
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I mean, that's all we got.
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(Laughter)
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Is it any wonder
that our system is so poor?
that our system is so poor?
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So imagine, if I can give you an analogy,
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imagine if you wanted to know
what is it like to eat a cake,
what is it like to eat a cake,
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if instead of just eating the cake,
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you instead had to ingest
the ingredients of a cake,
the ingredients of a cake,
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one by one,
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along with instructions
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about how these ingredients
can be combined to form a cake.
can be combined to form a cake.
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You had to eat the instructions, too.
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(Laughter)
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If that was how we had to experience cake,
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we would never eat cake.
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And yet, language is
the only way -- the only way --
the only way -- the only way --
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that we can figure out
what is going on here, in our minds.
what is going on here, in our minds.
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This is our interiority,
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the thing that makes us human,
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the thing that makes us different
from other animals,
from other animals,
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is all inside here somewhere,
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and all we have to do to represent it
is our own languages.
is our own languages.
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A language is our best way of showing
what's going on in our head.
what's going on in our head.
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Imagine if I wanted to ask
a big question, like:
a big question, like:
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"What is the nature of human
thought and emotion?"
thought and emotion?"
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What you'd want to do
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is you'd want to examine
as many different languages
as many different languages
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as possible.
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One isn't just going to do it.
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To give you an example,
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here's a picture I took of little Roman,
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that I took with a 12-megapixel camera.
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Now, here's that same picture
with a lot fewer pixels.
with a lot fewer pixels.
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Obviously, neither
of these pictures is a real cat.
of these pictures is a real cat.
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But one gives you a lot better sense
of what a cat is than the other.
of what a cat is than the other.
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Language is not merely a tool.
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It is our legacy,
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it's our way of conveying
what it means to be human.
what it means to be human.
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And of course, by "our" legacy,
I mean all humans everywhere.
I mean all humans everywhere.
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And losing even one language
makes that picture a lot less clear.
makes that picture a lot less clear.
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So as a job for the past 10 years
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and also as recreation, just for fun,
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I create languages.
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These are called "conlangs,"
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short for "constructed languages."
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Now, presenting these facts back to back,
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that we're losing languages on our planet
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and that I create brand-new languages,
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you might think that there's
some nonsuperficial connection
some nonsuperficial connection
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between these two.
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In fact, a lot of people have drawn a line
between those dots.
between those dots.
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This is a guy who got
all bent out of shape
all bent out of shape
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that there was a conlang
in James Cameron's "Avatar."
in James Cameron's "Avatar."
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He says,
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"But in the three years
it took James Cameron
it took James Cameron
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to get Avatar to the screen,
a language died."
a language died."
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Probably a lot more than that, actually.
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"Na'vi, alas, won't fill the hole
where it used to be ..."
where it used to be ..."
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A truly profound and poignant statement --
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if you don't think about it at all.
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(Laughter)
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But when I was here at Cal,
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I completed two majors.
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One of them was linguistics,
but the other one was English.
but the other one was English.
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And of course, the English major,
the study of English,
the study of English,
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is not actually the study
of the English language, as we know,
of the English language, as we know,
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it's the study of literature.
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Literature is just a wonderful thing,
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because basically, literature,
more broadly, is kind of like art;
more broadly, is kind of like art;
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it falls under the rubric of art.
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And what we do with literature,
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authors create new,
entire beings and histories.
entire beings and histories.
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And it's interesting to us to see
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what kind of depth and emotion
and just unique spirit
and just unique spirit
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authors can invest
into these fictional beings.
into these fictional beings.
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So much so, that, I mean --
take a look at this.
take a look at this.
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There's an entire series of books
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that are written
about fictional characters.
about fictional characters.
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Like, the entire book is just about one
fictional, fake human being.
fictional, fake human being.
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There's an entire book
on George F. Babbitt
on George F. Babbitt
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from Sinclair Lewis's "Babbitt,"
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and I guarantee you,
that book is longer than "Babbitt,"
that book is longer than "Babbitt,"
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which is a short book.
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Does anybody even remember that one?
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It's pretty good, I actually think
it's better than "Main Street."
it's better than "Main Street."
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That's my hot take.
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So we've never questioned the fact
that literature is interesting.
that literature is interesting.
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But despite the fact,
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not even linguists are actually interested
in what created languages can tell us
in what created languages can tell us
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about the depth of the human spirit
just as an artistic endeavor.
just as an artistic endeavor.
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I'll give you a nice little example here.
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There was an article written about me
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in the California alumni
magazine a while back.
magazine a while back.
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And when they wrote this article,
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they wanted to get somebody
from the opposing side,
from the opposing side,
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which, in hindsight,
seems like a weird thing to do.
seems like a weird thing to do.
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You're just talking about a person,
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and you want to get somebody
from the opposing side of that person.
from the opposing side of that person.
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(Laughter)
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Essentially, this is just
a puff piece, but whatever.
a puff piece, but whatever.
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So, they happened to get
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one of the most brilliant
linguists of our time,
linguists of our time,
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George Lakoff, who's a linguist
here at Berkeley.
here at Berkeley.
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And his work has basically forever changed
the fields of linguistics
the fields of linguistics
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and cognitive science.
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And when asked about my work
and about language creation in general,
and about language creation in general,
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he said, "But there's a lot of things
to be done in the study of language.
to be done in the study of language.
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You should spend the time
on something real."
on something real."
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Yeah.
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"Something real."
Does this remind you of anything?
Does this remind you of anything?
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To use the very framework
that he himself invented,
that he himself invented,
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let me refer back
to this conceptual metaphor:
to this conceptual metaphor:
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language is a tool.
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And he appears to be laboring
under this conceptual metaphor;
under this conceptual metaphor;
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that is, language is useful
when it can be used for communication.
when it can be used for communication.
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Language is useless
when it can't be used for communication.
when it can't be used for communication.
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It might make you wonder:
What do we do with dead languages?
What do we do with dead languages?
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But anyway.
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So, because of this idea,
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it might seem like
the very height of absurdity
the very height of absurdity
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to have a Duolingo course
on the High Valyrian language
on the High Valyrian language
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that I created for HBO's
"Game of Thrones."
"Game of Thrones."
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You might wonder what, exactly,
are 740,000 people learning?
are 740,000 people learning?
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(Laughter)
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Well, let's take a look at it.
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What are they learning?
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What could they possibly be learning?
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Well, bearing in mind that
the other language for this --
the other language for this --
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it's for people that speak English --
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English speakers are learning quite a bit.
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Here's a sentence that they will probably
never use for communication
never use for communication
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in their entire lives:
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"Vala ābre urnes."
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"The man sees the woman."
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The little middle line is the gloss,
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so it's word for word,
that's what it says.
that's what it says.
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And they're actually learning
some very fascinating things,
some very fascinating things,
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especially if they're English speakers.
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They're learning that a verb can come
at the very end of a sentence.
at the very end of a sentence.
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Doesn't really do that in English
when you have two arguments.
when you have two arguments.
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They're learning that sometimes
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a language doesn't have an equivalent
for the word "the" -- it's totally absent.
for the word "the" -- it's totally absent.
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That's something language can do.
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They're learning that a long vowel
can actually be longer in duration,
can actually be longer in duration,
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as opposed to different in quality,
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which is what our long vowels do;
they're actually the same length.
they're actually the same length.
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They're learning that
there are these little inflections.
there are these little inflections.
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Hmm? Hmm?
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There are inflections called "cases"
on the end of nouns --
on the end of nouns --
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(Laughter)
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that tell you who does what
to whom in a sentence.
to whom in a sentence.
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Even if you leave the order
of the words the same
of the words the same
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and switch the endings,
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it changes who does what to whom.
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What they're learning is that languages
do things, the same things, differently.
do things, the same things, differently.
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And that learning languages can be fun.
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What they're learning is respect
for Language: capital "L" Language.
for Language: capital "L" Language.
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And given the fact that 88 percent
of Americans only speak English at home,
of Americans only speak English at home,
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I don't think that's
necessarily a bad thing.
necessarily a bad thing.
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You know why languages die on our planet?
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It's not because government imposes
one language on a smaller group,
one language on a smaller group,
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or because an entire group
of speakers is wiped out.
of speakers is wiped out.
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That certainly has happened in the past,
and it's happening now,
and it's happening now,
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but it's not the main reason.
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The main reason is that
a child is born to a family
a child is born to a family
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that speaks a language that
is not widely spoken in their community,
is not widely spoken in their community,
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and that child doesn't learn it.
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Why?
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Because that language is not valued
in their community.
in their community.
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Because the language isn't useful.
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Because the child can't go and get a job
if they speak that language.
if they speak that language.
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Because if language is just a tool,
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then learning their native language
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is about as useful
as learning High Valyrian,
as learning High Valyrian,
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so why bother?
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Now ...
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Maybe language study isn't going to lead
to a lot more linguistic fluency.
to a lot more linguistic fluency.
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But maybe that's not such a big deal.
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Maybe if more people
are studying more languages,
are studying more languages,
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it will lead to more linguistic tolerance
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and less linguistic imperialism.
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Maybe if we actually respect
language for what it is --
language for what it is --
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literally, the greatest invention
in the history of humankind --
in the history of humankind --
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then in the future,
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we can celebrate endangered languages
as living languages,
as living languages,
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as opposed to museum pieces.
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(High Valyrian) Kirimvose.
Thank you.
Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
David Peterson - Language creator, writer, artistDavid Peterson creates languages for television shows, for films and for fun.
Why you should listen
Best known for creating the Dothraki and Valyrian languages for HBO's Game of Thrones, David Peterson continues to work in Hollywood, though primarily out of his home in Orange County, where he lives with his wife, daughter and two cats. He's appeared previously on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (2016) and given talks at Google (2014 and 2015) and EG (2016). He has written two books, Living Language Dothraki (2014) and The Art of Language Invention (2015), and some of his upcoming work includes Netflix's The Witcher and Legendary's Dune.
David Peterson | Speaker | TED.com