Steven Pinker, the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, has studied the mind through a myriad of lenses, including language. Throughout Steve's career, he’s published books and articles on topics such as language acquisition, rationality, human nature, trends of global violence, writing and style, and language structure. He went from academic, to public intellectual—in 2004, he was named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world today. And inevitably, the algorithms suggested I listen to his speeches.
As a younger linguist, I spent many an hour watching Youtube videos of Steve Pinker. Through his speeches, informational videos, interviews, and TedTalks, I learned how to use language as a means to learn about humanity and cognition. I began to see language as a product of evolution and culture and society: language exists because of human existence, but also in light of human proclivities, as a tool to advance our relationships and inventions. So naturally I spiraled into jittery nervousness when he responded to my email. But as it turns out, Steve is a really nice guy. He’s brilliant, he’s famous, he’s certainly well-read, but no amount of accolades, I’ve come to realize, can darken Steve’s blinding elucidations or his ability to educate any individual, regardless of their background. This is the genius of Steve Pinker: he’s able to educate the general public about all sorts of topics without diluting the significance or complexity of his message. It was an honor to interview him not only because of his impact, but because of his passion for interdisciplinary theories and inquiry.
After explaining the trajectory of his career, Steve talks about his research on language and language acquisition, including his work on pragmatics and their social and political implications—why do humans say things like “wanna come up for Netflix and chill?”? If language is an evolutionary adaptation, how can we use that insight to better understand the evolving purpose of language? What makes language so essential to the human experience? And what’s Steve working on right now?
What our language habits reveal
Linguistics, Style and Writing in the 21st Century
