The link between evolution and language

Name: The link between evolution and language
Uploaded: 2025-09-18T14:43:29Z
Duration: 21 min 19 s
Description: Languages drift, adapt and evolve much like living species. In this wide-ranging conversation, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and linguist John McWhorter trace the parallels between biology and speech, from random mutations to cultural selection. They show how both genes and words change, survive and connect us — illuminating the deep patterns that shape life and language alike.

352,321 plays|

Richard Dawkins |

TED2025

• April 2025

Languages drift, adapt and evolve much like living species. In this wide-ranging conversation, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and linguist John McWhorter trace the parallels between biology and speech, from random mutations to cultural selection. They show how both genes and words change, survive and connect us — illuminating the deep patterns that shape life and language alike.