John McWhorter to Give Two Talks at the University of Maryland

The MLSC is excited to welcome John McWhorter to UMD for two exciting talks.

The Maryland Language Science Center is excited to welcome Linguist and Columbia University professor John McWhorter to the University of Maryland for two exciting talks this February, “Why Most Humans Talk in Two or More Ways” and “Affixless in Flores: Why Flores is a Puzzle and What to Do About It.”

McWhorter will deliver “Why Most Humans Talk in Two or More Ways,” co-sponsored by the Baha'i Chair for World Peace, on February 28th, 2025 at the Hoff Theatre in Stamp Student Union. 

Attendees can register for the event here.

The talk, meant for a general audience, will explore why code-switching—switching between dialects, languages, or vocabularies—is a normal part of communication in many parts of the world. McWhorter will argue that the real question is not “Why do people code-switch?” but “Why wouldn’t they?” Registration is required.

For those looking for a deeper dive into the language science topics McWhorter explores, attend “Affixless in Flores: Why Flores is a Puzzle and What to Do About It,” co-sponsored by the Department of Linguistics on February 27th. Registration is not required for this event.

This talk will explore the unusual languages of Flores Island, arguing that these languages challenge the idea that languages naturally simplify over time. Instead, their complexity suggests they are often used by adults as second or third languages.

Both events are free and open to the public.