Psst, hola pantalones intelligentes.
¿Cómo estás hoy? Um, ¿cómo se llama?
Um, hi, Smarty Pants.
As you can hear, I'm trying to learn a new language.
Keyword, trying. Any guesses what language I was just practicing?
If you said Spanish, you're right.
I'm actually in the airport on my way to Mexico.
Flight 55 to Mexico will begin boarding at gate 843 in 20 minutes.
Anyway, I was hoping to impress my friends by speaking some Spanish once I arrive.
Como estas? I'm good, thanks.
Also, nice job. Um, excuse me?
You're Spanish. It's getting better.
I can tell you've been practicing.
I have, and thanks.
Also, I don't see anyone.
Who's talking to me?
Look down. Okay, all I see is my luggage, my boarding pass, and my passport.
Yep, that's me. I'm your passport.
Um, okay. Passports don't usually talk, but that's cool.
I take it you speak English and Spanish?
Yep. Wow, two languages.
That means you're bilingual.
That's impressive. If you think that's impressive, wait until you find out I can speak more than two languages.
More than two. So, you're trilingual?
Nope. I can speak more than three languages.
Wow. Hey, Smarty Pants, do you know what it's called when someone can speak four or more languages?
Is it universal, superlingual, or multilingual?
If you said multilingual, nice job.
So, how many languages can you speak?
Passport. Well, as a passport, I've traveled all around the world.
You are not saying you can speak every language in the world, are you?
No. That would be ridiculously impressive.
Do you know how many languages there are?
What do you think, smarty pants?
How many languages are there?
Is it 500? 1 ,000? 5 ,000?
More? Believe it or not, there are over 7 ,100 languages spoken in the world today.
Whoa. I can only speak about 1 ,000 of them.
A thousand languages?
Passport, that's amazing!
I'm still learning to speak one other language.
What about you, smarty pants?
How many languages can you speak?
You know, Passport, since you're such an expert on languages, maybe you can help answer some questions I have.
Like, how do you learn a new language?
How long does it take?
Are some languages harder to learn than others?
And why are there so many different languages in the first place?
Great questions. I've got answers.
Good. Then it's time for another whiff of science and history on Who Smarted?
Who Smarted? Who's smart?
Is it you? Is it me?
Is it science or history?
Listen up, everyone.
We make smarting lots of fun.
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Hey there, smarty pants parents.
You love Who Smarted because it makes learning fun for your kids.
But what about your brain?
I'm Jerry Colber, the co -creator of Who Smarted.
And yes, your very own trusty narrator.
And I've got something just for you.
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Flight 55 to Mexico will begin boarding at gate 843 in 15 minutes.
Okay, Passport. We've got 15 minutes before my flight.
Where should we begin?
Well, to start, there are several levels to learning a new language.
You can learn to understand a new language auditorily.
Like in the auditorium we use for assemblies at school?
No, auditorily means through hearing.
In fact, the Who's Smarted podcast teaches history and science auditorily.
Ah, I see. I mean, I hear.
Some people can listen to a new language being spoken and kind of make out what's being said.
But they don't know how to speak or write that language.
At least not yet. Gotcha.
So how do you learn to understand a new language by hearing it auditorily?
Well, the major player in this process is your brain.
In your brain, there are several areas used to process language.
Scientists have identified Broca's area and Wernicke's area as the areas used to communicate or express and understand thoughts.
So the brain is split into sections or areas?
Yes. There's a right side and a left side of your brain.
Each side has four lobes or sections.
There's the frontal lobe, which is towards the front, like behind your forehead.
There's the parietal lobe, which is toward the top of your head and the side above your ear.
There's the occipital lobe, which is in the back of your head, and the temporal lobe, which is behind the ear and above the neck area.
Each area has a special function.
And where are the language parts of the brain located?
Broca's area and Wernicke's area are located on the same side of the brain.
Hmm, smarty pants Can you guess which side Broca's area and Wernicke's area are located in the brain?
Are they on the left or the right side?
If you guess the left side, which is thought to be the more logical side, you're correct Broca's area is in the frontal lobe, typically on the left side And Wernicke's area is often on the sylvian fissure Which is a line that connects your parietal and temporal lobes Very interesting But how can I learn Spanish so I can impress my friends?
Well, considering you're in the airport right now And your flight leaves in 11 minutes I'd say you'll only be able to use what you've learned so far To completely learn a new language takes time There's no exact time frame But it could take as little as three months Or as long as two years Hmm, I've only been practicing Spanish for two months So probably not this trip Well, the good news is, there are some goals you can work towards.
Research shows that if you learn 800 to 1 ,000 words of a new language, then you can carry on a basic conversation.
And if you know 2 ,000 words, you can understand 80 % of text or things that are written in that language.
Considering how many words I know in English, that sounds doable.
But how does it work?
Why can't I just hear a word or sentence and figure out what it means?
Well, it's something that has to be taught.
Your brain needs something to connect the word to in order to assign it meaning.
My brain needs connections?
Like Lego? Sort of.
Let's say you're studying another language and learning the word shoe in that language.
Um, in Spanish, that's...
Wait, wait, don't tell me.
It's zapato. Nice. Now, when you can say, write, and read the word shoe, your mind pictures a shoe.
And when you say the word shoe in a new language...
Zapato! Neurons fire...
and new wrinkles are formed in your brain.
Wrinkles? Is that good?
Yes. Those wrinkles in your brain will help you understand, remember, and speak the new word.
Brocusaria is used to help facilitate speech, which means that area of your brain communicates with your lungs, lips, jaw, and tongue to help you form the new word.
It may take a few tries because this may be a new combination of sounds.
And Wernicke's area is responsible for comprehension of speech, hearing the word zapato, and picturing.
A shoe. Exactly. Wow.
Who knew wrinkles could be a good thing?
When it comes to your brain, the more wrinkles, the better.
Okay. so it sounds like I need to create lots of wrinkles.
I'm curious, Smarty Pants.
What do you think was the first language ever created?
If you guessed English, not even close.
The first official language documented in 3500 BCE is called Sumerian.
I've heard of it, but I've never heard it.
I assume it's no longer in use.
Nope. Sumerian was replaced by Akkadian in 100 CE.
I've never heard of that one.
Also, what caused the switch?
Why create a new language?
The invasion of the Sumeric country by the Aka is what caused the language to switch.
Of course, some people still spoke Sumerian, but Akkadian was used too.
Oh, and smarty pants, don't feel bad if you guessed English earlier.
English might not have been the first language, but it is the most used language in the world.
Any guess what's the second most used language?
Is it Spanish, Italian, or Mandarin?
If you said Mandarin, you're right.
More than one billion people use Mandarin, and it's the name of the language used in China.
Not Chinese. Do you speak Mandarin, passport?
Si de wo yeni. Ooh, let me try.
Si de wo yeni. There you go.
Learning auditorily.
Right. Except I don't know what I just said.
You just said you like to eat hot dogs with your toes.
Wait, what? Just kidding.
Side wo yeni means yes, I do in Mandarin.
As in you asked if I spoke Mandarin.
Side wo yeni. Very cool.
But Passport, how does your brain memorize so many new words?
Great question. And the answer right after this quick break.
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Now back to Whosmarted.
Flight 55 to Mexico will begin boarding at gate A43 in five minutes.
As you can hear, I'm at the airport with my passport, who is somehow a much more worldly traveler than I am.
And they were about to explain how our brains can memorize all the new words needed to speak a new language.
Actually, there's someone who can explain that a lot better than me.
Let me introduce my friend Hippo.
A hippo? In the airport?
Um... Trusty narrator.
Meet Hippo. Um, Hippo?
No offense, but you sure don't look like a hippopotamus.
Who said anything about being a hippopotamus?
Sorry, hippo isn't short for hippopotamus.
It's short for hippocampus.
I'm an essential part of your brain used for memory.
Oh, okay, that makes so much more sense.
Nice to meet you. Same.
And just so you know, I'll remember everything about this meeting.
And I mean everything.
Right, because that's your thing, isn't it?
Yep. The more I know, the bigger I grow.
Wait, are you saying the more someone learns, the bigger their head gets?
Well, not exactly. When you're learning a new language, I get bigger, but never too big for your skull.
So how does that work?
I'm located in the center of your brain, and I connect related memories together.
For example, say you learned the word orange in Haitian Creole.
That's orange. Nice passport.
Obviously, you know the English word orange.
Not only that, but you also know what an orange looks, feels, smells, and tastes like.
So, if someone were to show you an orange and say Zorange, you have many things you can associate with that word to help you understand what Zorange means.
This helps you commit it to your long -term memory.
Flight 55 to Mexico now boarding at gate A43.
I better run soon, but let me get this straight.
When you learn a new language, the hippocampus part of your brain takes the information and associates it to what you already know and builds on it, making your brain bigger...
Bigger and stronger.
Trusty narrator. I got you a book to read on your flight.
Thanks! But wait, it's a children's book.
And it's in Spanish.
I can't read Spanish.
Maybe not all of it, but some of it.
And since it's a children's book, there will be pictures to help you understand.
Ah, I can use my hippocampus.
Exactly. Studies show immersing yourself in a foreign language helps you learn faster.
In particular, if there are pictures or images for you to see.
So reading Spanish children's books or watching the news in Spanish is a great way to learn.
And of course, visiting a foreign country.
Flight 55 to Mexico, final boarding at gate A43.
Yikes, I better run.
No, I'm not going to run.
I'm going to... Correr.
Correr. Correr? Yes, correr is run in Spanish.
We better correr. Arriba, arriba.
Andere, andere. A big ol' shout out to Britta in St. Paul, Minnesota, who's listening to Who Smarted with her cat, George.
Hi, George. Thanks for being our biggest fans and for listening to two episodes every day on the way to school.
This episode, Learning Languages, was written by Darshall Sanderfer and voiced by Chris Okawa, Justin Dew, Kim Davis, and Jerry Colbert.
Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn.
Who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios.
Our associate producer is Max Kamasky.
The theme song is by Brian Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis.
Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert.
This has been an Atomic Entertainment production.
