Week 12 Lab: Ted-Ed Videos

How languages evolve: I actually really like this video and think that it actually meets its title very well. The concept of languages slowly changing over time is very similar to how biological evolution would occur which is what makes this so cool. Evolution doesn’t only occur with living things, but can affect anything. So long as it’s given enough time to change. The language tree is also very similar to how some species are related to each other with a phylogenetic tree. Just as we try to link and differentiate between species, we try to do the same with languages.

Are Elvish, Klingon, Dothraki, and Na’vi real languages?: I had no idea that these languages were actual “real” languages. They are actual functioning languages because of their grammatical construction, instead of the words they contain. The video has a deeper look into what makes a language, a language. Different characteristics were listed but the fictional conlangs hit those points. Tolkien sounds like he covered all his bases so that Elvish could hypothetically be used.


How to use a semicolon: This is a good video for me because my semicolon usage is subpar. I knew that a semicolon could probably be used in a situation but I was never sure so we stuck with less compact punctuation. I always forget the differences between semicolons and colons, but now I like to think of semicolons as just commas on steroids. They do very similar things but are just much better at doing it. Instead of using a comma and conjunction, the ‘roided out semicolon can do it by itself. The embedded video is from "Semicolon" by The Lonely Island. It might be explicit at times, but it really shows the frustrations of semicolon usage.