"If you've ever been on a picnic, you know all living creatures have
methods of communication," says linguist Linda McNab.
The lone ant that crawls across your blanket to steal a breadcrumb suddenly
turns into a whole army of ants invading your picnic site. The single bee
you try to swat as it buzzes around your head quickly turns into a whole nest
of angry bees. Somehow, they've alerted each other to food or danger
without your knowing it; they've communicated without using sound or
words.
People also have ways of communicating silently -- the shrug of a shoulder,
the wave of a hand -- but according to McNab, it is our use of language which
makes humans unique in the animal kingdom.
"Language is one capability shared by all human beings and is not shared
by any other species of living thing," says McNab. This unequaled use of language
by humans was a source of both fascination and frustration to her as a little
girl.
"I had this little dog -- Sniffy or Sparky or some doggy name -- and I
was always curious as to why he could learn a few words, like stop, sit, no,
good boy. I thought it would be brilliant if I could teach him to speak English
so he could listen to my problems. Since he seemed to have learned a few words,
I thought it would only be a matter of time before I had a fluent, English-speaking
dog!"
Unfortunately, McNab's dog wasn't nearly as brilliant as she'd
originally assumed, and she was forced to give up and resign herself to human
conversation. The incident wasn't all bad, however, because McNab credits
it with sparking her interest in her future career.
Irene Mazurkewich's foray into linguistics took a much different course.
She was already in university studying something else when she enrolled in
a course focusing on the history of the English language.
"It turns out the course was taught by one of the worst teachers I've
ever had," laughs the linguistics professor. "But the work fascinated me,
so I switched to linguistics."
As linguists, it's McNab's and Mazurkewich's job to study
language.
"I study how natural languages work," says McNab, "how they have developed
over time, how they are at a particular point in time, how they are learned,
and how they are produced and understood."
McNab has been working in the discipline of sociolinguistics for many years,
teaching students and conducting her own research at universities all across
the United Kingdom. McNab says she is still fulfilled by a sense of purpose
in her work.
"The study of language helps us understand ourselves and our human nature
better," says McNab.
Although she enjoys her work, McNab says linguistics has some difficult
aspects, not the least of which are the myths surrounding the field. According
to people in this field, one of the biggest myths about linguistics is that
linguists are the "grammar police."
"I think lots of people believe we sit in our offices designing perfect
sentences," McNab says. But it's not like that at all!
"We don't walk around with rulers, hitting the backs of the hands
of anyone who commits a grammatical error," agrees Carl Mills, a linguistics
professor at the University of Cincinnati. In fact, Mills says linguists are
fascinated by casual language use and slang expressions.
"We're not prescribers of correct usage. In fact, one of the most
interesting aspects of linguistics is studying how everyday speech differs
from grammar-book speech."
Linguists believe one of the most interesting things about language is
that all people have their own personal way of using language. This is called
an idiolect. In other words, no two people speak a language in exactly
the same way, although they may be very similar.
"A big part of my work focuses on similarities and differences between
spoken and written communication. I am particularly interested in analyzing
language actually produced by people -- everyday language as opposed to language
in written texts," says McNab.
Another one of the challenges of this field is the development of keen
listening skills. McNab says linguists must be able to hear and identify sounds
of speech in any language, which takes a very sharp ear.
"It's really something you have to develop over time," she says. "I
nearly strained my 'ear muscles' at first. When most people listen
to other people talk, they just hear the words. If they don't speak the
language, it sounds like nonsense to them. When a linguist listens to a conversation,
they will hear certain intonations, sounds, patterns."
While listening skills are important for linguists, McNab says the key
ingredient for people in this field is enthusiasm. "Excitement about languages
and about the people who speak them are the elements that make for a good
linguist."
McNab says this kind of enthusiasm came naturally for her, since she believes
linguistics is one of the most promising keys for unlocking the mysteries
of the brain.
"Over the years, linguistics has told us more about the structure of the
human mind than any other discipline. The most rewarding aspect is to get
to the point when you realize the amazing feat that it is to learn a language
in all its complexity, which most of us just take for granted."