Stories that explore a specific case that exhibits a significant linguistic development or discovery.
The children of both slaves and their masters all started speaking the same exact language at the same exact time. The language existed nowhere else and never had; even their parents could not understand the new creole. Yet it suddenly appeared within one generation.
Have you ever felt bulldozed by someone who kept interrupting with a story that only vaguely relates to the one you were just trying to tell? Or maybe you feel like you’re always trying to get your co-worker to tell you about their weekend but it feels like pulling teeth, and you think, “Okay, they just don’t want to talk to me.”
Debating popular theories about Victor’s mental health and origin story
Have you ever asked someone to repeat themselves, only to realize that you suddenly know what they said? Read something without realizing a word was repeated or misspelled? Heard words in an instrumental song?
Studies of brain trauma to the so-called “language center” teach us about areas of the brain controlling two very different aspects of speech.
Unable to decipher social cues or verbal tones, Victor was wary about his reunion with the stern Itard and hesitated to greet him, thinking he might be angry about the extended vacation.
“I always enjoyed watching Bill Clinton dial up his southern-fried accent as needed for a barbecue or down for a speech to the United Nations. But I cringed just as much watching Hillary Clinton try to do the same.”
Just a few days after New Years 1800, Victor decided to walk out of the woods and into the village, ready to join society… whatever that was.
The Layman's Linguist 