WEBVTT 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I'm a lexicographer. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 I make dictionaries. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And my job as a lexicographer 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is to try to put all the words 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 possible into the dictionary 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 My job is not to decide what a word is 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that is your job 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 everybody who speaks english 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 decides together what's a word and what's not a word 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 every language is just a group of people 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 who agree to understand each other 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 now sometimes when people 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 are trying to decide if a word is good or bad 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they don't really have a good reason 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they say something like, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 "because, grammar!" 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Laughter). 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and i don't actually care about grammar too much 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 don't tell anyone 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but the word grammar-- 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 actually, there are two kinds of grammar 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 there's the kind of grammar that kind of lives inside your brain 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 if you're a native speaker of a language or a good speaker of a language 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 it's the unconscious rules that you follow 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 when you speak that language 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and this is what you learn 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 when you learn an language as a child 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 here's an example 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 this is a wog 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 right, it's a wug 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Now there is another one 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 there are two of these 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 there are two 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (audience): wugs 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 exactly! you know how to make 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the plural of wug 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that rule lives in your brain 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 you never had to be taught this rule 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 you just understand it 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 this is a experiment that was invented 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 by a professor 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 at boston college 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 named jean burco0gleesin 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 back in 1958 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so we've been talking about this for a long time 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 now these kinds of natural 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 rules that exist in your brain 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 there's not like traffic laws 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 there more like laws of nature 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and nobody has to remind you to obey 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 a law of nature, right? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 when you leave the house in the morning 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 your mom doesn't say, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 "hey honey, it's going to be cold 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 take a hoodie, don't forget to obey the law of gravity" 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 no body says this 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 laughter 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 now there are other rules 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that are more about manners than they are about nature 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so you can think of like 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 a word is like a hat 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 once you know how hats work 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 nobody has to tell you 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 don't wear hats on your feet 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 what they have to tell you is 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 can you wear hats inside 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 who gets to wear a hat 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 what are the kinds of hats you get to wear 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 those are more of the second kind of grammar 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that linguists often call usage 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as opposed togrammar 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 now, sometimes people use 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 this kind of rules-based grammar 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to discourage people from 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 making up words 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and i think that is, well, stupid 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 so for example, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 people are always telling you, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 "be creative, make music 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 do art, invent things 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 science and technology" 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but when it comes to words, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they're like 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 "don't!"