<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"/>
<html><!---->
<head><!---->
<!--PLS_META--> <!--Knews2 Document --> <script src="/js/csssniff.js"></script><script language="JavaScript"> function pop_me_up(pURL, features) { new_window = window.open(pURL, "popup_window", features); new_window.focus(); } </script>
<meta name="NYT_HEADLINE" content="How Language Came to Be, and Change">
<meta name="hdl" content="How Language Came to Be, and Change">
<meta name="BY_LINE" content="By CLAUDIA DREIFUS">
<meta name="byl" content="By CLAUDIA DREIFUS">
<meta name="FIRSTPAR" content=" In graduate school at Stanford, Dr. John H. McWhorter became fascinated with the evolution of languages. He has made a career of a childhood hobby.">
<meta name="lp" content=" In graduate school at Stanford, Dr. John H. McWhorter became fascinated with the evolution of languages. He has made a career of a childhood hobby.">
<meta name="SECTION" content="Science">
<meta name="SOURCE" content="The New York Times">
<meta name="DISPLAYDATE" content="October 30, 2001">
<meta name="pdate" content="20011030">
<!--Times index meta tags -->
<meta name="ttl" content="">
<meta name="virtloc" content="">
<meta name="des" content="Language and Languages;Archaeology and Anthropology;Evolution">
<meta name="per" content="">
<meta name="org" content="">
<meta name="geo" content="">
<meta name="ticker" content="">
<!--New meta tags -->
<meta name="dsk" content="Science">
<meta name="dat" content="October 30, 2001">
<meta name="tom" content="News">
<meta name="cat" content="">
<meta name="col" content="A Conversation With / John McWhorter">
<meta NAME="ARTICLE_TEMPLATE_VERSION" CONTENT="300">
<!-- context ad setup -->
<!--123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789 -->
<!--123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789 -->
<!--123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789 -->
<!--123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789123456789 -->
<TITLE>How Language Came to Be, and Change</TITLE><!---->
</head><!---->
<!--plsfield:NYT_INLINE-->
<body marginheight="5" marginwidth="0" leftmargin="0" topmargin="5" link="#000066" bgcolor="#ffffff" alink="#990000" vlink="#444464">
<!---->
<a name="top"></a><!---->
<NYT_HEADER>
<table width="768" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td colspan="6" width="768" bgcolor="#ffffff" height="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="768" height="5" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td width="8"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="8" height="5" border="0"/></td><td width="280" valign="bottom"><NYT_HEADER_IMAGE> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/science/index.html"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/article/header/science.gif" width="231" height="25" border="0" alt="New York Times Science"/></a> </NYT_HEADER_IMAGE></td><td width="1" bgcolor="#000000"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="6" rowspan="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="6" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="468" rowspan="3"><!-- context ad reference Top -->
<A href="http://www.nytimes.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/science/social/30CONV.html/8966/Top/nytnyt159/Glory_Days_468.gif/687562657968" target="_top"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/RealMedia/ads/Creatives/nytnyt159/Glory_Days_468.gif" BORDER=0 468x60 ALT="" ></A></td><td width="5" rowspan="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td width="8" height="1"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="8" height="1" border="0"/></td><td height="1" width="280" bgcolor="#000000"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="1" bgcolor="#000000"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td width="8"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="8" height="5" border="0"/></td><td width="280" valign="top"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="280" height="7" border="0"/><a href="http://www.nytimes.com"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/article/header/NytArticleHeader.gif" width="122" height="21" border="0" alt="The New York Times"/></a></td><td width="1" bgcolor="#000000"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td colspan="6" width="768" bgcolor="#ffffff" height="7"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="768" height="7" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td colspan="6" width="768" bgcolor="#000000" height="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="768" height="3" border="0"/></td></tr></table></NYT_HEADER><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="768"><!---->
<tr> <td rowspan="3" width="98" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"><!---->
<NYT_GLOBAL_NAV><table width="98" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><tr><td colspan="3"><a href="/"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/gn_home.gif" width="98" height="20" border="0" alt="Home"></a></td></tr><!---->
<tr><td colspan="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/gn_classifieds.gif" width="98" height="20" border="0" alt="Classifieds"/></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/jobs/index.html">Find a Job</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="http://jobs.nytimes.com/texis/jm/jobPostForm.html?lookid=nyt&jp=C">Post a Job</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/realestate/index.html">Real Estate<img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/new.gif" width="30" height="11" border="0" align="center" valign="middle"></a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/automobiles/index.html">Automobiles</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/classified/">All Classifieds</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/gn_news.gif" width="98" height="20" border="0" alt="News"/></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/world/index.html">International</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/national/index.html">National</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/politics/index.html">Politics</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/business/index.html">Business</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/technology/index.html">Technology</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/science/index.html">Science</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td valign="top" align="left" width="10"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1">-</font></td><td align="left" width="83"><a href="/pages/science/earth/index.html"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1">Earth Science</font></a></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td valign="top" align="left" width="10"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1">-</font></td><td align="left" width="83"><a href="/pages/science/life/index.html"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1">Life Science</font></a></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td valign="top" align="left" width="10"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1">-</font></td><td align="left" width="83"><a href="/pages/science/physical/index.html"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1">Physical Science</font></a></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td valign="top" align="left" width="10"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1">-</font></td><td align="left" width="83"><a href="/pages/science/social/index.html"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1">Social Science</font></a></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td valign="top" align="left" width="10"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1">-</font></td><td align="left" width="83"><a href="/pages/science/space/index.html"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1">Space</font></a></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td valign="top" align="left" width="10"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1">-</font></td><td align="left" width="83"><a href="/pages/science/columns/index.html"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1">Columns</font></a></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/health/index.html">Health</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/sports/index.html">Sports</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/nyregion/index.html">New York Region</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/education/index.html">Education</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/weather/">Weather</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/obituaries/index.html">Obituaries</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/pageone/index.html">NYT Front Page</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/corrections.html">Corrections</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/national/dayofterror/index.html">Special: A Nation<br>Challenged</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/gn_opinion.gif" width="98" height="20" border="0" alt="Opinion"/></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/opinion/index.html">Editorials/Op-Ed</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/">Readers' Opinions</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#999999" colspan="3" height="1"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr>
<tr><td align="center" valign="middle" colspan="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="98" height="5" border="0"/><br><NYT_NAV_AD><!-- context ad reference Bottom3 -->
<A href="http://www.nytimes.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/science/social/30CONV.html/2768/Bottom3/nytsit59/db-86x60_2.gif/687562657968" target="_top"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/RealMedia/ads/Creatives/nytsit59/db-86x60_2.gif" BORDER=0 Other ALT="" ></A></NYT_NAV_AD><br><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/gn_features.gif" width="98" height="20" border="0" alt="Features"/></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/automobiles/index.html">Automobiles</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/arts/index.html">Arts</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/books/index.html">Books</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/movies/index.html">Movies</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/travel/index.html">Travel</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/dining/index.html">Dining & Wine</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/garden/index.html">Home & Garden</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/fashion/index.html">Fashion & Style</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/nytoday/index.html">New York Today</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/diversions">Crossword/Games</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/diversions/cartoons/">Cartoons</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/library/magazine/home/">Magazine</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/weekinreview/index.html">Week in Review</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/library/photos/index.html">Photos</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/college/index.html">College</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/learning">Learning Network</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/jobs/index.html">Job Market</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/pages/realestate/index.html">Real Estate<img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/new.gif" width="30" height="11" border="0" align="center" valign="middle"></a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/gn_services.gif" width="98" height="20" border="0" alt="Services"/></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="http://search.nytimes.com/search/">Archive</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/info/help/index.html">Help Center</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/services/nytmobile/">NYT Mobile</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/nytstore/">NYT Store</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="http://postcards.nytimes.com/specials/postcards/">E-Cards & More</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="http://www.nytdigital.com/">About NYTDigital</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="http://www.nytdigital.com/work/job.html">Jobs at NYTDigital</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/adinfo/">Online Media Kit</a></font></td></tr>
<tr><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans serif" size="1"> <a href="/adinfo/advertisers.html">Our Advertisers</a></font></td></tr>
<tr> <td colspan="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/gn_newspaper.gif" width="98" height="20" border="0" alt="Newspaper"></td></tr><!---->
<tr> <td width="5"> </td> <td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="1"><!---->
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/homedelivery-subscribe">Home Delivery</a><!---->
<br><a href="http://homedelivery.nytimes.com">Customer Service</a><!---->
<br><a href="http://nytadvertising.nytimes.com">Media Kit</a></font></td></tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td height="5" colspan="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="5" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
</NYT_GLOBAL_NAV>
<tr>
<td colspan="3">
<img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_nav/profile.gif" width="98" height="17" border="0" alt="Your Profile"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="5"><spacer type="block" width="5" height="1"></td>
<td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="1"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/info/help/profile.html">Review Profile</a><br>
<a href="http://email.nytimes.com">E-Mail Options</a><br>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/guests/auth/signout">Log Out</a></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td height="5" colspan="3"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="5"></td>
</tr>
<tr><!---->
<td colspan="3" height="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="98" height="3" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td bgcolor="#999999" colspan="3" height="1"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td colspan="3" height="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="98" height="3" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><!---->
<td colspan="2"><font class="nav" face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="1"><!---->
<a href="/info/help/textpath.html">Text Version</a><br></font></td></tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td colspan="3" height="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="98" height="3" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td bgcolor="#999999" colspan="3" height="1"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td colspan="3" height="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="98" height="3" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td colspan="3" height="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="98" height="3" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td colspan="3"><!-- context ad reference Bottom5 -->
</td></tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td colspan="3" height="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="98" height="3" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td height="5" colspan="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="5" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td colspan="3" height="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="98" height="3" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td bgcolor="#999999" colspan="3" height="1"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
</table><!---->
</td><!---->
<td rowspan="3" width="1" bgcolor="#999999" align="left" valign="top"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><!---->
<td colspan="6" width="669" align="left" valign="top"><!---->
<table width="669" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> <form action="http://archives.nytimes.com/plweb-cgi/search.cgi" method="post"> <input type="hidden" name="fields" value="ALL"> <input type="hidden" name="section" value="ALL"> <tr><td width="669" height="3" colspan="9"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="669" height="3" border="0"/></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td width="20" align="right" rowspan="2"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="37" align="right" valign="middle"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_search/gs_search.gif" width="39" height="11" border="0" alt="search"/></td><td width="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="3" height="3" border="0"/></td><td width="100" valign="middle"><input type="text" name="thequery" size="18" value=""></td><td width="3"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="3" height="3" border="0"/></td><td width="100" align="left" valign="middle"> <select name="thedbs"> <option value="Today">Today's News <option value="site1week">Past Week <option value="past30days" selected="">Past 30 Days <option value="past90days">Past 90 Days <option value="past365days">Past Year <option value="Full">Since 1996 </select> </td><td width="25" align="right" valign="middle"><input type="image" name="submit" value=" Search " src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/global/global_search/gs_submit.gif" width="18" height="19" border="0" alt="Submit"/></td><td width="151" align="right" rowspan="2"><!-- context ad reference Middle1 -->
</td><td width="230" align="right" rowspan="2">
<font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" color="#990000" size="2"><nobr>
Welcome, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/info/help/profile.html">hubeyh</a></nobr></font> <font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="1"><br><nobr>
<a href="http://email.nytimes.com">Sign Up for Newsletters</a> <font color="#999999"> | </font> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/logout">Log Out</a></nobr></font>
</td></tr><tr> <td width="140" colspan="3" align="right" valign="top"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="1"><a href="http://search.nytimes.com/search/">Go to Advanced Search</a></font></td> <td width="103" colspan="2"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="20" height="2" border="0"/></td><td width="25"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="20" height="2" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td width="669" height="2" colspan="9"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="669" height="2" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td width="669" height="5" colspan="9" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="669" height="5" border="0"/></td></tr></form> </table> </td><!---->
</tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td width="10" align="left" valign="top"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="10" height="900" border="0"/></td><!---->
<td width="472" align="left" valign="top"><!---->
<table width="462" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" valign="top"><tr><td align="left" valign="top"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="462"><tr><td width="147"><A HREF="http://ea.nytimes.com/cgi-bin/email?REFURI=http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/30/science/social/30CONV.html"> <a href="http://ea.nytimes.com/cgi-bin/email?REFURI=http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/30/science/social/30CONV.html"> <img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/article/functions/emailArticle2.gif" width="147" align="top" height="19" border="0" alt="E-Mail This Article"/> </a> </a></td><!---->
<td width="131"><A HREF="/2001/10/30/science/social/30CONV.html?pagewanted=print"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/article/functions/printArticle2.gif" width="131" height="19" border="0" align="top" alt="Printer-Friendly Format"/></a></td><!---->
<td width="184" rowspan="2"><!-- context ad reference Position1 -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE = "JavaScript">
// <!--
document.cookie = "EmailAd=eta-blank; path=/; domain=.nytimes.com";
window.onerror=null;
// -->
</script>
<img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/ads/k2_eta_line.gif" border=0></td></tr><!---->
<tr><td width="147"><a href="http://ea.nytimes.com/cgi-bin/poppage"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/article/functions/mostEmailed2.gif" width="147" height="18" border="0" align="top" alt="Most E-Mailed Articles"/></a></td><!---->
<td width="131"><A HREF="/2001/10/30/science/social/30CONV.html?pagewanted=all">
<img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/article/functions/singlePage2.gif" width="131" height="18" border="0" align="top" alt="Single-Page View"/>
</a></td></tr><!---->
</table><!---->
</td></tr><tr><td align="left" valign="top"> <p></p> <p></p> <NYT_DATE><font size="-1"><strong>October 30, 2001</strong></font><br></NYT_DATE><NYT_KICKER> <br> <font color="#666666" size="-1"><strong>A CONVERSATION WITH / JOHN MCWHORTER</strong></font></NYT_KICKER><NYT_HEADLINE version="1.0" type=" "><h2>How Language Came to Be, and Change</h2></NYT_HEADLINE><NYT_BYLINE version="1.0" type=" "><h5>By CLAUDIA DREIFUS</h5></NYT_BYLINE><NYT_LINKS_ONSITE version="1.0" type="main">
<script language="javascript">
<!--
function multimediaWindow(fileURL, width, height) {
var newWindow = window.open(fileURL,"multWindow","width="+width+",height="+height+",toolbar=no,location=no,scrollbars=auto,resizable=no")
}
// -->
</script>
<!--Error: there are no related articles associated with this article --> <table align="right" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><!---->
<tr><td width="9" rowspan="99"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="10" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
<tr><td width="184" colspan="5"> <img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/2001/10/29/science/30conv.1.jpg" width="182" height="222" border="0" align="center"/><br><div align="right"><font face="Times,Times New Roman, serif" size="-2">usan Spann for The New York Times</font></div><font face="Times,Times New Roman, serif" size="-1">Dr. John H. McWhorter, a linguistics professor, says as many endangered languages as possible should be recorded before they are lost.</font><br><br></td></tr><!---->
<tr><td colspan="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/article/new_relatedArticles.gif" width="184" height="22" border="0" align="center" alt="Related Articles"/></td></tr><form method="POST" action="http://archives.nytimes.com/plweb-cgi/search_related.cgi"><tr><td colspan="5" width="184" height="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td align="left" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="left" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="172"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="4" border="0"/></td><td align="left" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="right" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td align="left" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="left" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="172"><font face="Times New Roman,Times,Bookman Old Style,Garamond" color="#000000" size="2">Find additional information by selecting from the following topics.</font></td><td align="left" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="right" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td align="left" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="left" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="172"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="4" border="0"/></td><td align="left" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="right" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td colspan="5"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="184"><tr><td width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="left" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="10" valign="top"><input type="checkbox" name="query1" value="Language and Languages|des"></td><td width="162"><font face="Times New Roman,Times,Bookman Old Style,Garamond" color="#000000" size="2">Language and Languages</font></td><td align="right" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="right" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="left" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="10" valign="top"><input type="checkbox" name="query2" value="Linguistics|nyt_keyword"></td><td width="162"><font face="Times New Roman,Times,Bookman Old Style,Garamond" color="#000000" size="2">Linguistics</font></td><td align="right" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="right" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="left" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="10" valign="top"><input type="checkbox" name="query3" value="Archaeology and Anthropology|des"></td><td width="162"><font face="Times New Roman,Times,Bookman Old Style,Garamond" color="#000000" size="2">Archaeology and Anthropology</font></td><td align="right" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="right" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="left" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="10" valign="top"><input type="checkbox" name="query4" value="Evolution|des"></td><td width="162"><font face="Times New Roman,Times,Bookman Old Style,Garamond" color="#000000" size="2">Evolution</font></td><td align="right" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="right" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td align="left" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="left" width="5" valign="top"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="172" align="right"><input type="image" src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/section/college/formArrow2.gif" width="18" height="19" border="0" alt="submit" value=" Search "></td><td align="left" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="right" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td align="left" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="left" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="172"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="4" border="0"/></td><td align="left" width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td align="right" width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><tr><td colspan="5" width="184" height="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr></form><tr><td colspan="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/article/new_readerOpinions.gif" width="184" height="22" border="0" align="center" alt="Readers' Opinions"/></td></tr><!---->
<tr><td width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="172"><font face="Times,Times New Roman, serif" size="-1"><a href="http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?13@0@.f0bce3d">Join a Discussion on Human Origins and Anthropology</a></font><br><br></td><td width="5"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="5" height="1" border="0"/></td><td width="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0""/></td></tr><!---->
<tr><td colspan="5" height="1" bgcolor="#cccccc"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr><!---->
<tr> <td colspan="5"> <NYT_AD_REF AD="Middle5"><!-- context ad reference Middle5 -->
</NYT_AD_REF> </td> </tr><tr><td width="184" colspan="5"></td></tr></table><!---->
</NYT_LINKS_ONSITE>
<!--plsfield:TEXT-->
<NYT_TEXT >
<P><IMG SRC="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/dropcap/o.gif" ALIGN="left" ALT="O">n a warm recent afternoon, the conservative author and social critic Dr. John H. McWhorter, 36, was sitting in a New York sushi parlor, discussing his other profession: linguistics professor at the University of California at Berkeley with an expertise in language change and evolution.</P> <P> Dr. McWhorter had come to New York from his home base in Oakland, Calif., to attend a meeting at the Manhattan Institute and to put the final touches on his sixth book, a meditation on the natural history of language. The work, "The Power of Babel," is to be issued in January.</P> <P> "Languages have been a passion since I was a small child," he said. "I used to teach them to myself as a hobby. I speak three and a bit of Japanese, and can read seven."</P> <P> In graduate school at Stanford, Dr. McWhorter became fascinated with the evolution of languages, particularly with the Creole tongues, because he wondered how a phenomenon like Haitian Creole "could start out as Latin" and "become something so different in structure."</P> <P> <BR> Q. In "The Power of Babel," you write, "The first human language emerged roughly 150,000 years ago in East Africa." How can you know this?<BR> A. To some extent, language appears to be innate to Homo sapiens. The fossil evidence of Homo sapiens goes back to about 150,000 years ago. So we may assume that part of what distinguished the species when it arose was speech.<BR> Q. What sorts of words, do you suppose, were a part of the vocabulary of early humans? Did they say, "Herd of antelope, over there" or "The fire is warm"?<BR> A. The first vocabulary must have corresponded closely with the life experience of the people in question. Since they were most likely hunter- gatherers, they would certainly have had words for animals and plants. If you look at contemporary hunter- gatherer societies, we find their vocabularies correspond closely to their life experiences. Of course, they spoke about the sorts of things that all humans have always spoken about, such as love, food, pain and the future.<BR> Q. The late Dr. Joseph Greenberg of Stanford tried to reconstruct pieces of what he believed to be the original human language. Was he guessing when he tried to do that?<BR> A. He was making thoroughly educated guesses based on comparing words from the ancestors of certain groups of languages that we can reconstruct now. However, there's a problem to this method: language is always changing. In 150,000 years, every word has been turned inside out so many times that there's no way of going back to what the words might have been. How words change is often based on unpredictable processes, anyway.</P> <P> There's a second problem: there's no record. We can know what some ancient creatures looked like because they've left behind a fossil record. There's no record of language until the advent of writing. And while language seems to have existed for about 150,000 years, we've had writing for only about 6,000. So once we get beyond that 6,000-year barrier, we're really just guessing.<BR> Q. Do we know how the original East African language proliferated into the thousands we have today?<BR> A. We know it happened because of the process of change. Change is the central reality of human language. The shapes of words, and the structures of languages, are always changing. Once the first language arose, Homo sapiens were turning it upside down and inside out. As soon as there were separate populations of human beings, there were bound to be whole separate languages. And then, once Homo sapiens coated the world, there were thousands of languages.<BR> Q. Do languages evolve in the same way living organisms do?<BR> A. Very much. In organisms, a species develops subspecies. Similarly, a language develops dialects. Today, there are maybe 5,000 languages on earth. Michael Krauss of the University of Alaska estimates we'll have 500 within 100 years. Minority languages are being killed off along with minority cultures.<BR> Q. Should we be organizing conservation programs for endangered languages in the same way we do for wildlife and plants?</P> <P> A. Ideally we'd like to keep all 5,000 languages. Just as every creature is this marvelous repository of nature's wonders, if you look at any language, you are dazzled by its richness and complexity. This is especially true if you go way off into the jungle and find a language spoken by some 300 people. That language is going to be unbelievably complex because it has had thousands of years in isolation to get that way.</P> <P> But globalization seems to be inevitable. And what's even more inevitable is that people who are living in primitive conditions, once they're exposed to first-world lives, tend to want them. To the extent third-world people are joining the globalized world, it seems that many of these languages are doomed, at least in their spoken form. What I urge is that these languages be recorded so that we will always know what they were like. I think all linguists should record at least one endangered language as part of their career.<BR> Q. In your book, you assert that the more complex a society is, the simpler its language. Can you explain how that works?<BR> A. I also say that the more isolated the society, the more complex the language. In large cosmopolitan societies, you have new people constantly coming in, learning the language as a second language, and for that reason, constantly simplifying it. If a language is spoken over millennia by a group of 500 people and newcomers aren't learning it as a second language, then you don't have people shaving it down to its simplest form. Thus, it will get very complex, arbitrary, full of bells and whistles and needless gunk.<BR> Q. You are, among other things, an expert in pidgin and Creole languages. What drew you to this?<BR> A. One thing I really like about Creole languages is that they are a testament to the hybridicity of human nature and the fact that hybridicity creates not sterile creatures but brand-new living things.</P> <P> Another thing about Creoles is that I suspect that they most approximate some of the early languages. Creoles begin as pidgin languages. They start when adults from different places come together in a situation such as slavery and have to learn a particular language very quickly, without formal teaching.
<p>
<div align="right"><font size="-1"><b>Continued</b><br>1 | <a href="/2001/10/30/science/social/30CONV.html?pagewanted=2">2</a> | <a href="/2001/10/30/science/social/30CONV.html?pagewanted=2">Next>></a></div>
</NYT_TEXT></td></tr><tr><td>
<!--plsfield:NYT_FOOTER-->
<br><br><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td align="left"><NYT_FOOTER_LINKS><font size="-1"> <a href="/">Home</a> | <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/science/index.html">Back to Science</a> | <a href="http://search.nytimes.com/search/">Search</a> | <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/subscribe/help/">Help</a></font></NYT_FOOTER_LINKS></td><td align="right"><font size="-1"><a href="#top">Back to Top</a></font></td></tr></table><br><br></td></tr><tr><td><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="462"><tr><td width="147"><A HREF="http://ea.nytimes.com/cgi-bin/email?REFURI=http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/30/science/social/30CONV.html"> <a href="http://ea.nytimes.com/cgi-bin/email?REFURI=http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/30/science/social/30CONV.html"> <img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/article/functions/emailArticle2.gif" width="147" align="top" height="19" border="0" alt="E-Mail This Article"/> </a> </a></td><!---->
<td width="131"><A HREF="/2001/10/30/science/social/30CONV.html?pagewanted=print"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/article/functions/printArticle2.gif" width="131" height="19" border="0" align="top" alt="Printer-Friendly Format"/></a></td><!---->
<td width="184" rowspan="2"><!-- context ad reference Position1 -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE = "JavaScript">
// <!--
document.cookie = "EmailAd=eta-blank; path=/; domain=.nytimes.com";
window.onerror=null;
// -->
</script>
<img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/ads/k2_eta_line.gif" border=0></td></tr><!---->
<tr><td width="147"><a href="http://ea.nytimes.com/cgi-bin/poppage"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/article/functions/mostEmailed2.gif" width="147" height="18" border="0" align="top" alt="Most E-Mailed Articles"/></a></td><!---->
<td width="131"><A HREF="/2001/10/30/science/social/30CONV.html?pagewanted=all">
<img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/article/functions/singlePage2.gif" width="131" height="18" border="0" align="top" alt="Single-Page View"/>
</a></td></tr><!---->
</table><!---->
</td></tr></table></td><!---->
<td rowspan="2" width="6" align="left" valign="top"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" height="1" width="6" border="0"/></td><!---->
<td rowspan="2" width="1" align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="#999999"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" height="1" width="1" border="0"/></td><!---->
<td rowspan="2" width="6" align="left" valign="top"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" height="1" width="6" border="0"/></td><!---->
<td rowspan="2" width="184" align="left" valign="top"><!---->
<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" width="184"><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td><center><!-- context ad reference Right2 -->
<br></center> </td><!---->
</tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td><center><!-- context ad reference Right3 -->
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE=JavaScript></SCRIPT>
<MAP NAME="FlashMap">
<AREA COORDS="0,0,140,800" HREF="http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic%2bFTContentServer?pagename=user%2FNewsStand%2FTransitionP&ExternalMediaCode=NA1AJ>" TARGET="_top"></MAP>
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE=JavaScript>
<!--
var plugin = 0;
if (navigator.mimeTypes && navigator.mimeTypes["application/x-shockwave-flash"] && navigator.mimeTypes["application/x-shockwave-flash"].enabledPlugin) {
if (navigator.plugins && navigator.plugins["Shockwave Flash"])
plugin = 1;
}
else if (navigator.userAgent && navigator.userAgent.indexOf("MSIE")>=0
&& (navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Windows 95")>=0 || navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Windows 98")>=0 || navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Windows NT")>=0)) {
document.write('<SCRIPT LANGUAGE=VBScript>\n');
document.write('on error resume next\n'); document.write('plugin = ( IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash.3")))\n');
document.write('if ( plugin <= 0 ) then plugin = ( IsObject(CreateObject("ShockwaveFlash.ShockwaveFlash.4")))\n');
document.write('</SCRIPT>\n');
}
if ( plugin ) {
document.write('<OBJECT classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"');
document.write(' codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=5,0,0,0. cab#version=3,0,0,0" ');
document.write(' ID=FLASH ID WIDTH=140 HEIGHT=800>');
document.write(' <PARAM NAME=movie VALUE="http://www.nytimes.com/ads/140-EE.swf"> <PARAM NAME=quality VALUE=high> <PARAM NAME=bgcolor VALUE=#000000> ');
document.write(' <EMBED src="http://www.nytimes.com/ads/140-EE.swf" quality=high bgcolor=#FFFFFF');
document.write(' swLiveConnect=FALSE WIDTH=140 HEIGHT=800');
document.write(' TYPE="application/x-shockwave-flash" PLUGINSPAGE="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash">');
document.write(' </EMBED>');
document.write(' </OBJECT>');
} else if (!(navigator.appName && navigator.appName.indexOf("Netscape")>=0 && navigator.appVersion.indexOf("2.")>=0)){
document.write('<img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/ads/ee-140-alternate.jpg" WIDTH=140 HEIGHT=800 BORDER=0 USEMAP="#FlashMap">');
}
//-->
</SCRIPT>
<NOEMBED>
<img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/ads/ee-140-alternate.jpg" WIDTH=140 HEIGHT=800 BORDER=0 USEMAP="#FlashMap">
</NOEMBED>
<NOSCRIPT>
<img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/ads/ee-140-alternate.jpg" WIDTH=140 HEIGHT=800 BORDER=0 USEMAP="#FlashMap">
</NOSCRIPT>
<br></center></td><!---->
</tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/advertiser_links.gif" width="184" height="16" border="0" alt="Advertiser Links"/><br><!-- context ad reference Right5 -->
<BR><FONT FACE="Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif, Geneva" SIZE="-1"><A href="http://www.nytimes.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/science/social/30CONV.html/3037/Right5/nydma-textlink/vacation.html/687562657968?http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/20010805ed-index.html">Volunteers on<br>vacation</a></font><br>
<br><!-- context ad reference Right6 -->
<br><!-- context ad reference Right7 -->
<br><FONT FACE="Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif, Geneva" SIZE="-1"><A href="http://www.nytimes.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/science/social/30CONV.html/10378/Right7/orbitz01-nyt4/orbitz.html/687562657968?http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;3097331;6194510;d?http://www.orbitz.com/?referralcode=%s">Find More Low Fares!<br>Experience Orbitz!</a></font><br>
<br><!-- context ad reference Right8 -->
</td><!---->
</tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td><tr><td><br>
<script name="javascript">
<!--
function submitCCCForm()
{
PopUp = window.open('', '_Icon', 'location=no,toolbar=no,status=no,width=650,height=550,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes');
this.document.cccform.submit();
}
// -->
</script>
<form name="cccform" action="https://s100.copyright.com/CommonApp/LoadingApplication.jsp" target="_Icon">
<img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/article/reprints.gif" width="184" height="16" border="0" alt="Reprints & Permissions"/>
<input type="hidden" name="Title" value="How Language Came to Be, and Change"/>
<input type="hidden" name="Author" value="By CLAUDIA DREIFUS"/>
<input type="hidden" name="ContentID" value="http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/30/science/social/30CONV.html"/>
<input type="hidden" name="FormatType" value="default"> <input type="hidden" name="PublicationDate" value="OCT 30 2001"/>
<input type="hidden" name="PublisherName" value="The New York Times"><a href="#" onClick="javascript:submitCCCForm();"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#000099" size="1">Click here to order Reprints or Permissions of this Article</font></a></form></td></tr></td><!---->
</tr><!---->
</table><!---->
</td><!---->
</tr><!---->
<tr><!---->
<td colspan="2" align="center"><!---->
<NYT_FOOTER> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" width="472">
<tr>
<td align="center"><!-- context ad reference Bottom1 -->
<table width="468" border="0">
<tr>
<td width="84"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/science/social/30CONV.html/12315/Bottom1/nytcirST/footer_nytcir2.html/687562657968?secure-homedelivery.nytimes.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentServer?pagename=user%2FContentMgt%2FPromoFeature%2FPromoFeatureT1P&ExternalMediaCode=W11FZ"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/ads/circulation/circulation.logo.gif" width="79" height="50" border=0></a></td>
<td width="381">
<p align="left">
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/science/social/30CONV.html/20620/Bottom1/nytcirST/footer_nytcir2.html/687562657968?secure-homedelivery.nytimes.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentServer?pagename=user%2FContentMgt%2FPromoFeature%2FPromoFeatureT1P&ExternalMediaCode=W11FZ"><font color="#0000FF">Click Here</font></a> <font color="#000000">to Receive 50% Off Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. </font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<br></td>
</tr><tr>
<td align="center"><!-- context ad reference Bottom -->
<A href="http://www.nytimes.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/science/social/30CONV.html/6442/Bottom/nytnyt159/Glory_Days_468.gif/687562657968" target="_top"><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/RealMedia/ads/Creatives/nytnyt159/Glory_Days_468.gif" BORDER=0 468x60 ALT="" ></A></td>
</tr><tr><td align="center"><font size="-1"><NYT_COPYRIGHT>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/subscribe/help/copyright.html"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#000099" size="1">Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company</font></a><font color="#000099" size="2"> | </font><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/info/help/privacy.html"><font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif" color="#000099" size="1">Privacy Information</font></a>
</NYT_COPYRIGHT></font></td></tr><tr><td><img src="http://graphics.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif" width="472" height="1" border="0"/></td></tr> </table> </NYT_FOOTER></td><!---->
</tr><!---->
</table><!---->
</body>
</html>