A series of special public events will take place from 16-20 November as the University takes part in the nationwide ‘Being Human’ festival of humanities.
Hosted by the University’s Department of English Language and Linguistics, the free events called ‘The Genius of Language’, will explore the origins, diversity and creativity of language.
One of the festival’s highlights will be a free public lecture titled ‘Why Bilingualism Matters’. The lecture, delivered by Professor Antonella Sorace (University of Edinburgh) who is a world-leading authority in the field of bilingual language development across the lifespan, will illustrate the main facts and effects of early bilingualism. The lecture will also explain how to enable people to make informed decisions about bilingualism in all sectors of society.
The full series of events include:
· Sunday 16 November
– The Beaney House of Art & Knowledge will host an interactive exhibition which will explore questions from ‘why is human language so special and how does it differ from the communication systems of other animals?’ to ‘how did English change through the centuries?’.
Opening hours: 11am – 5pm
– Also at The Beaney, a creative writing workshop called “Language and Creativity” will focus on how to use metaphors in creative writing. 3pm – 4pm.
This event is free but places are limited, so please register in advance.
· Tuesday 18 November
– The Gulbenkian Cinema will screen The Linguists (2008), a film on linguists’ efforts to document endangered languages around the globe; it will be followed by Q&A sessions with the staff of English Language & Linguistics.
Free entry. 6.30pm.
· Wednesday 19 November
– Public lecture: ‘’Why Bilingualism Matters’. Professor Antonella Sorace.
Rutherford Lecture Theatre 1 (RLT1), Canterbury campus. 6pm.
· Thursday 20 November
– The Gulbenkian Cinema will screen Is the Man Who is Tall Happy? (2013), an animated interview with pioneer linguist Noam Chomsky on his views about language structure and evolution; the film will be followed by Q&A sessions with the staff of English Language & Linguistics.
Free entry. 6.30pm.
Full details can be found on ‘The Genius of Language’ web page.
For more information contact Amalia Arvaniti.