Talk the Line Christine Kenneally explores the evolution of language.
Stephen Paulus explains how a composer sets poetry to music.
Julie Barlow tells the story of the French language.
Jim Ridge creates an appearance onstage by Charles Dickens.
In biology it's widely accepted, but the study of the evolution of language was once banned by The French Linguistic institute. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll let it develop, and take a look at the story of French as well. Also, composer Stephen Paulus finds music in and around poetry. And, a surprise visit from Charles Dickens.
Christine Kenneally is a linguist and the author of "The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language." She tells Steve Paulson that Noam Chomsky thought language was hard-wired in the human brain, but later researchers like Steven Pinker have shown that its development is even more complex.
Composer Stephen Paulus sits at the piano keyboard and talks with Jim Fleming about how he developed the music for a group of six poems he set for the Festival Choir of Madison. The resulting piece is called "Prairie Songs" and we also hear excerpts of a concert recording by the Choir. They talk about the way music and language can work together to enhance an emotional effect and how the composer changes the poem when he sets it to music.
Julie Barlow is the author, with her partner, Jean-Benoit Nadeau, of "The Story of French." Barlow tells Anne Strainchamps that French retains an association with culture and sophistication and that the French have a curatorial attitude toward their language, but in fact they add new words all the time.
Jim Ridge is a core member of the company of American Players Theater in Spring Green, Wisconsin. He performs a one man show called "Dickens in America," which he wrote with his friend Jim DeVita. Ridge explains the structure of the show to Jim Fleming and goes in and out of various characters to give us the flavor of it. And it's great, rollicking fun!
To the Best of Our Knowledge is an audio magazine of ideas - two hours of smart, entertaining radio for people with curious minds.
