Richard Curtis sharing his thoughts on language past, present and future. Language is infinite. Language is not literal. Language comes with experience.

1. READ ALL
ABOUT IT
THE POWER
OF SPEECH
AND LANGUAGE

2. I AM AN
AMATEUR

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YOURS
SINCERELY

4. I
ME
OF
HAVE
AND
BUT
WHO
WHOM
WHO’S
WHOSE

5. PROOFREADING YOUR COPY
SINCE 1755

6. DICTIONARIES
DO NOT CREATE
LANGUAGE
DICTIONARIES
COMPILE
WORDS

7. NO BAD WORDS
ONLY BAD
DICTIONARIESERIN MCKEAN, LEXICOGRAPHER

8. LANGUAGE AIMS TO
INJECT MORE MEANING
INTO OUR DAILY LIVES
SO WHY ARE WE
RESTRICTING MODERN
DAY LANGUAGE TO AGE OLD
SUPERSTITIONS AND OUT
OF DATE CONVENTIONS?

9. CORPORATE CONVENTION
FORMAL AND FINITE

10. SOCIAL EXPERIENCE
INFORMAL AND INFINITE

11. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
DESIGNED
WRITTEN
SPOKEN
BY ALL
OF US

12. 1.
LANGUAGE
IS INFINITE

13. SET
1 WORD
146
DEFINITIONS

14. 1 NEW WORD
EVERY 100 MINS
15 NEW WORDS
EVERY DAY
NUMBER OF WORDS HAS
DOUBLED SINCE 1950SGLOBAL LANGUAGE MONITOR

15. FINITE SET OF ELEMENTS
INFINITE SET OF RESULTS

16. WHEN THE
CHILD OF
MORNING
ROSY-FINGERED
DAWN APPEAREDHOMER, ANCIENT GREEK EPIC POET

17. THE TOTAL MANAGEMENT
PLANNING PROCESS UTILISES
STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESSES
WHICH FOCUS ON SITUATIONAL
CONTEXTS AND INCORPORATE
REGULATORY, CUSTOMER,
ENVIRONMENTAL AND
FUNDING NEEDS IN A
REFLECTIVE AND REFLEXIVE
MANNER FOR A HOLISTIC AND
SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO
ORGANISATIONAL MANAGEMENT.

18. IN JUST A FEW MORE YEARS,
THE CURRENT HOMOGENIZED
VOICE OF BUSINESS – THE
SOUND OF MISSION STATEMENTS
AND BROCHURES – WILL SEEM
AS CONTRIVED AND ARTIFICIAL
AS THE LANGUAGE OF THE
18TH
CENTURY FRENCH COURT
THE CLUETRAIN MANIFESTO

20. WE ARE MAD
SCIENTISTS

21. UNOBTANIUM®
PLUTONITE®
O MATTER®
X METAL®

23. USE ALL THE WORDS
CHOOSE YOUR WORDS
CAREFULLY CREATIVELY
THEY’RE ONE IN A MILLION

24. 2.
LANGUAGE
IS NOT LITERAL

25. ENFP

26. LOQUOR
ERGO
COGITO
ERGO SUM

27. YOU DON’T WRITE
BECAUSE YOU WANT
TO SAY SOMETHING
YOU WRITE BECAUSE
YOU HAVE SOMETHING
TO SAYF. SCOTT FITZGERALD

28. MESSAGE
MATRIX

29. MESSAGE
MATRIX

30. !
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UNIFORM
NOT PLATFORM

31. MOST MESSAGES
FOCUS SOLELY ON
CONTENT OFTEN
AT THE EXPENSE
OF CONTEXT
TO THE POINT
OF TREATING
EVERYTHING
LITERALLY

32. I COULD
KILL FOR
A GLASS
OF WATER

33. I’D GIVE MY
RIGHT ARM
FOR AN
iPHONE 5

34. FREE
LUNCH

35. LANGUAGE IS NOT
BLACK AND WHITE

39. LANGUAGE IS ABSTRACT
LANGUAGE IS VAGUE
LANGUAGE IS OPEN
TO INTERPRETATION

40. 3.
LANGUAGE
COMES WITH
EXPERIENCE

41. WE NEED TO HELP TODAY’S
TEENAGERS UNDERSTAND
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
THEIR TEXT SPEAK AND
THE FORMAL LANGUAGE THEY
NEED TO SUCCEED IN LIFE.JEAN GROSS, COMMUNICATION CHAMPION FOR CHILDREN

42. LOL

43. SPONG

44. CHENZED

45. THE REAL ISSUE HERE IS THAT
PEOPLE OBJECT TO KIDS HAVING
A GOOD VOCABULARLY FOR
HIP-HOP AND NOT FOR POLITICS.
THEY HAVE AN ARTICULATE
VOCABULARLY FOR THE KIND
OF THINGS THEY WANT TO TALK
ABOUT. FEW ACADEMICS GET
ANYWHERE NEAR MEASURING
THAT VOCABULARLY.DAVID CRYSTAL, LINGUIST

46. ARBITRARY SYMBOLS AND
GRAMMATICAL RULES
LEARNED THROUGH
SOCIAL INTERACTION

47. I GOOGLED
WIKIS WITH BING
GO GET THE DYSON AND
HOOVER THE LOUNGE
DID YOU GET THE POST
OFFICE TO FEDEX IT?

48. ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
LONG MULTI-CLAUSE SENTENCES
FOOTNOTES AND ENDNOTESDAVID FOSTER WALLACE, AUTHOR

49. STAINBOY, USING HIS OBVIOUS EXPERTISE, WAS CALLED IN TO INVESTIGATE
MYSTERIOUS GLOWING GOO ON THE GALLERY FLOOR. HE FELT HIS HEART POUNDI
HARD AGAINST HIS RIBS. AS HE BENT DOWN, HE SAW HIS OWN REFLECTION ON T
SURFACE OF THE PUDDLE. WITHHOLDING HIS BREATH, HE LIGHTLY POKED THE
SURFACE OF THE PUDDLE. THE SURFACE SHIFTED STRANGELY, SLOWLY SPINNING I
ACTION. STAINBOY TOOK A STEP BACK AS THE GOO CONTINUED TO SPIN FASTER A
FASTER. A SHARP COLD WIND WHIPPED ROUND THE ROOM. THE CHANDELIER SWU
THE ART ON THE WALLS SHOOK AGAINST THE WALLS, AND THE GOO BEGAN TO TA
FORM. SLOWLY BEGINNING TO ENCIRCLE STAINBOY, THE GELATINOUS MOUNTAIN O
GOO LOOKED ALMOST FAMILIAR. STAINBOY’S EYES NARROWED AS HE TENTATIVELY
LIFTED HIS HAND TOWARDS THE GOO, ALLOWING IT TO HOVER INCHES FROM THE
SURFACE. SUDDENLY THE GOO SPRANG UP, COVERING HIS HAND. STAINBOY TRIED
PULL AWAY BUT THE HARDER HE FOUGHT, THE STRONGER IT GOT. THE GOO PULLED
HIM CLOSER AND CLOSER. HE SUDDENLY REALIZED WHY THE GOO LOOKED
STRANGELY FAMILIAR. BUT HOW DID THE GOO END UP ON THE GALLERY FLOOR? A
MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHY? IT CLUNG TIGHTLY TO HIM; HE COULD FEEL THE CHILL
THE GELATINOUS GOO CREEP UP HIS ARM. TRUE TO HIS NATURE HE DID NOT PANI
PLAN WAS WHAT HE NEEDED. STAINBOY HAD ALWAYS BEEN THE CURIOUS TYPE, B
RIGHT NOW, HE HAD NO DESIRE TO WAIT AND SEE. AS THE GOO CONTINUED TO
ENGULF HIS BODY, STAINBOY NOTICED THE CHANDELIER, NOW SWINGING FURIOU
COULD HE REACH IT? STAINBOY REACHED UP AS HIGH AS HIS ARM WOULD ALLOW
THE GOO KEEPING HIM JUST INCHES OUT OF REACH OF THE CHANDELIER IT WAS L
HIS ARM WAS SHORTER THAN IT HAD EVER BEEN IN HIS WHOLE LIFE. HIS FINGER
TIPS SCRAPING THE COLD METAL CHANDELIER. UNTYING HIS CAPE, HE TRIED ONE
DESPERATE ATTEMPT AND BLEW INTO THE GOO-ED FABRIC TO MAKE HIMSELF A
BALLOON TO STAND ON. STANDING ON THE BALLOON HE GRABBED THE CHANDELI
AND STARTED TO SWING WITH ALL HIS MIGHT. HE THRUST HIS BODY BACK AND
FORTH, SQUIRMING AND KICKING HIS LEGS FRANTICALLY TO LOOSEN THE GOO’S G
THE VIOLENT SWINGS CAUSED SMALL PIECES OF THE CEILING TO FALL DOWN ON
GOO, CAUSING A STRANGE REACTION. THE GOO CHANGED COLOUR AND STARTED
PULSATE. STAINBOY LOOKED DOWN AT HIS FEET AS THE GOO RELEASED ITS GRIP
BEGAN TO BUBBLE. THE AIR GOT DENSE AND HOT. STAINBOY CLOSED HIS EYES AN
HELD ON TO THE CHANDELIER AS HARD AS HE COULD. BUT, FATE CONSPIRED AGAI
HIM. THERE WAS A GROAN OF METAL AS, NAIL BY NAIL, THE CHANDELIER LOST ITS
HOLD ON THE CEILING. AS THE GOO ROARED WITH ANGER, STAINBOY PREPARED
HIMSELF FOR HIS DEMISE. HE GASPED FOR WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS HIS LAST BRE
WHEN OUT OF NOWHERE, HIS FALL WAS BROKEN. STAINBOY OPENED HIS EYES. W

50. REACH FOR NEW WAYS
TO MAKE AN EXPRESSION
CREATE THE STRUCTURE
TO SUIT YOUR STORY
INVITE EVERYONE
TO CONTRIBUTE

51. THE SAME
OLD WORDS
TELL THE SAME
OLD STORY
HOW CAN YOU
CREATE YOUR
OWN WORLD
OF LANGUAGE?

52. AGE OLD
SUPERSTITIONS
OUT OF DATE
CONVENTIONS
EXPERIENCE

53. EXPERIENCE
SHAPES OUR
LANGUAGE

54. EXPERIENCE
SHAPES OUR
LANGUAGE
LANGUAGE
SHAPES OUR
EXPERIENCE

55. LANGUAGE
IS A UNIQUE
PLATFORM
FOR INFINITE
EXPRESSION

56. HOW WE USE
LANGUAGE
ISN’T WRONG

57. HOW WE USE
LANGUAGE
IS CHANGING

58. HOW WE USE
LANGUAGE
IS CHANGING
AND WE’RE
ALL HERE
TO HELP

59. READ ALL
ABOUT IT
THANK YOU
FOR LISTENING
!
!
RICHARD CURTIS
@RADARBLUR