Language & Linguistics Videos Hacker News Recommends

lecture#24

George Lakoff: Moral Politics

University of California Television (UCTV)

“Changed how I listen - to anyone - forever.”

3 HN recommenders · 2016–2024

commentary#400

Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography - Language

Built By Matt

“I highly encourage this 6 minute take by Stephen Fry on Language”

4 HN recommenders · 2012–2025

comedy#515

What Languages Sound Like To Foreigners

Sara Forsberg

“Internet personality Saara turned speaking fake languages into a career with this amazing little clip”

6 HN recommenders · 2014–2021

music#518

Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol

Le Pietre Rotolanti

“For anyone who hasn't seen it before, here's a song by an Italian composer made to sound like American English”

6 HN recommenders · 2016–2024

lecture#605

Irving Finkel | The Ark Before Noah: A Great Adventure

The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

“equal parts fascinating and hilarious”

4 HN recommenders · 2021–2025

lecture#645

Cracking Ancient Codes: Cuneiform Writing - with Irving Finkel

The Royal Institution

“Highly recommend Prof Irving Fink's talk to Royal Institution on the 3,000 year development of cuneiform”

3 HN recommenders · 2020–2024

talk#791

How to learn any language in six months | Chris Lonsdale | TEDxLingnanUniversity

TEDx Talks

“this talk which actually changed my life”

5 HN recommenders · 2014–2019

lecture#869

The Unanswered Question 1973 1 Musical Phonology Bernstein Norton

cagin

“Check out the Norton Lectures especially, where Bernstein analyzes musical structure with references to Chomsky.”

4 HN recommenders · 2018–2023

lecture#1001

RSA ANIMATE: Language as a Window into Human Nature

Royal Society of Arts

“this wonderful RSA Animate of Steve Pinker's discussion of how we use language”

2 HN recommenders · 2011–2022

lecture#1104

Jorge Luis Borges: This Craft of Verse Lectures - thepostarchive

thepostarchive

“These lectures by Borges are seriously under-appreciated”

3 HN recommenders · 2019–2022

explainer#1140

The US Has More Tribes Than the World Has Countries

CGP Grey

“CGP Grey made a very convincing video on the argument that at least in the US, unexpectedly enough, "Indian" is probably the most appropriate term”

4 HN recommenders · 2020–2026

comedy#1169

George Carlin - Euphemisms

poyani

“George Carlin made this point brilliantly”

4 HN recommenders · 2014–2025

explainer#1203

A London Accent from the 14th to the 21st Centuries

Simon Roper

“for frankly enchanting 18 minutes of viewing”

3 HN recommenders · 2021–2024

documentary#1299

Thoth's Pill - an Animated History of Writing

NativLang

“I also recommend Thoth's Pill, an amazing historical overview of writing systems”

3 HN recommenders · 2019–2023

explainer#1358

The Zipf Mystery

Vsauce

“It's actually a very deep question, called the Zipf mystery”

4 HN recommenders · 2018–2024

explainer#1367

The surprising pattern behind color names around the world

Vox

“there is a pretty well done video by Vox on how color names are influenced by culture”

4 HN recommenders · 2017–2025

explainer#1416

Anagrams, but where you can break apart letters: "Anagraphs"

suckerpinch

“Definitely give it a watch.”

3 HN recommenders · 2020–2023

commentary#1426

Stephen Fry on the Joys of Swearing

gsmokeyjoe

“Stephen Fry says it best”

5 HN recommenders · 2011–2016

explainer#1436

Why are British place names so hard to pronounce?

Map Men

“The Map Men on YouTube did a short (8min) video on why pronunciation is hard and a guide”

4 HN recommenders · 2021–2024

talk#1484

Music as a Language: Victor Wooten at TEDxGabriolaIsland

TEDx Talks

“Victor Wooten gave an outstanding TED talk[1] on this topic[2]”

3 HN recommenders · 2017–2018

explainer#1642

Rapping, deconstructed: The best rhymers of all time

Vox

“Please consider this required watching, even if you have no interest in hip-hop music”

3 HN recommenders · 2019–2023

lecture#1653

23. Language

Stanford

“If you want to understand better how the brain works, I really recommend watching the whole course.”

3 HN recommenders · 2015–2024

comedy#1703

I made a talking banana

Useless Duck Company

“terrific little video about the battle between him and his viewers”

3 HN recommenders · 2018–2023

commentary#1733

Conlang Critic Episode Twelve: Toki Pona

jan Misali

“I highly recommend watching all episodes of their show”

3 HN recommenders · 2020–2023

interview#1754

The Concept of Language (Noam Chomsky)

UW Video

“Here's my favorite talk on the subject given by Chomsky, highly recommend a listen”

3 HN recommenders · 2021–2024

explainer#1912

Gender Neutral Pronouns: They're Here, Get Used To Them

Tom Scott

“Tom Scott has a great video on grammatical gender that is worth a watch”

3 HN recommenders · 2013–2015

tutorial#2125

How to write cuneiform with Irving Finkel and @preservethings I Curator's Corner S4 Ep9

The British Museum

“It's short enough for an introduction, funny and entertaining”

3 HN recommenders · 2023–2025

explainer#2192

Shakespeare: Original pronunciation (The Open University)

OpenLearn from The Open University

“I very much enjoyed this quick introduction to Shakespeare in Original Pronunciation”

4 HN recommenders · 2013–2025

explainer#2288

w

jan Misali

“If you're interested in fascinating deep dives into the history of a few odd letters”

3 HN recommenders · 2021–2023

podcast#2434

Edward Gibson: Human Language, Psycholinguistics, Syntax, Grammar & LLMs | Lex Fridman Podcast #426

Lex Fridman

“I highly recommend listening to this Lex Friedman podcast episode”

2 HN recommenders · 2024

explainer#2452

Accent Expert Gives a Tour of U.S. Accents - (Part 2) | WIRED

WIRED

“I loved this video which does a tour of US accents.”

2 HN recommenders · 2021–2025

explainer#2492

Vocal Fry: what it is, who does it, and why people hate it!

Dr Geoff Lindsey

“it's not just that. It's (also?) a normal speech pattern, used by different genders, ages, and social groups, in many languages.”

2 HN recommenders · 2024–2026

interview#2558

Hacker Interviews: Larry Wall

The BXI

“I really enjoyed this interview with Larry Wall (of Perl fame)”

2 HN recommenders · 2013–2024

explainer#2580

Why “No Problem” Can Seem Rude: Phatic Expressions

Tom Scott

“Tom Scott has an excellent video that addresses this very issue.”

3 HN recommenders · 2021–2023

explainer#2638

Rhyme: Why Eminem is one of the most impressive lyricists ever

Library of Alexandria

“this absolute standout of a YouTube video about the rhyme scheme in Eminem's Lose Yourself.”

2 HN recommenders · 2014–2022

demo#2937

Try this bizarre audio illusion! 👁️👂😮 - BBC

BBC

“The most compelling illustration I've seen of this is the McGurk Affect[1].”

2 HN recommenders · 2011–2020

explainer#2951

Accent Expert Gives a Tour of U.S. Accents - (Part One) | WIRED

WIRED

“I loved this video which does a tour of US accents.”

2 HN recommenders · 2021–2025

music#3083

The Epic Of Gilgamesh In Sumerian

Peter Pringle

“If you like this video, you will probably also like Peter Pringle's The Epic Of Gilgamesh In Sumerian”

3 HN recommenders · 2021–2025

music#3122

Jake Thackray 'Molly Metcalfe'

TallPiler

“I'll again recommend the Youtube video of Jake Thackray singing 'Molly Metcalfe'”

2 HN recommenders · 2013–2024

talk#3240

Duolingo -- the next chapter in human computation | Luis von Ahn | TEDxCMU 2011

TEDx Talks

“First thing: Watch this video from Luis von Ahn”

2 HN recommenders · 2011–2012

comedy#3303

George Carlin on Soft Language

CappyNJ

“I refer you to George Carlin [1], who explained it better than I could.”

2 HN recommenders · 2013–2024

talk#3306

The Stuff of Thought | Steven Pinker | Talks at Google

Talks at Google

“For more on this topic, I recommend Steven Pinker's 2007 talk at Google.”

2 HN recommenders · 2010–2026

explainer#3334

One Typo, Wrong Continent

CGP Grey

“just fascinating and worth the watch”

2 HN recommenders · 2022–2025

demo#3429

Can Japanese People Read Chinese? (Mandarin, Simplified)

That Japanese Man Yuta

“That Japanese Man Yuta has a great video demonstrating just how much Chinese script do ordinary Japanese folk understand”

2 HN recommenders · 2020–2021

comedy#3586

George Carlin - Euphemisms & political correctness

aaron pryor

“George Carlin says it best (as usual...)”

1 HN recommenders · 2019–2022

explainer#3729

Can Japanese People Read Chinese? (Kanji)

That Japanese Man Yuta

“I found these videos quite entertaining”

1 HN recommenders · 2020–2024

comedy#3800

A Bit of Fry & Laurie Concerning Language

Fun English Lessons

“behind the silliness and ridiculous characterization, sets out Ferdinand de Saussure’s distinction of langue versus parole”

1 HN recommenders · 2023–2026

music#3873

"Weird Al" Yankovic - Word Crimes (Official 4K Video)

alyankovicVEVO

“I think Weird Al's version is better and more educational than the original”

1 HN recommenders · 2020–2024