Linguits Explains Where “Crazy” Collective Nouns Came From

Rob Watts of RobWords is a linguist and of course, he has a lot to say. He’s quite the orator, isn’t he? That’s what makes this video such an awesome watch.

He is here to provide us with a closer look at the origins of collective nouns. These nouns are very descriptive and they are a bedrock of the English language. Specifically, he gets into a very commonly discussed aspect of our language.

We have so many disparate words that are all used to describe groups of the same thing. For example, you have probably heard a group of geese referred to as a gaggle.

A group of crows is referred to as a murder. Fish are called a school, lions are known as a pride. We had no idea that a group of foxes were referred to as a skulk but we do now.

This is the sort of video that viewers are sure to learn a lot from. “English has all kinds of silly and strange words for when a load of one thing hang out with one another. …These collective nouns, as they’re known, raise many questions. Like what’s so murderous about a murder of crows? How can a school of fish be a school? And where on earth did all these come from?” the description inquires.

We have always wondered why a group of crows was referred to in that way but now we finally have the chance to find out everything that we need to know. Videos like these are a very crucial watch because they provide us with the chance to find out about different aspects of language that we may not have been familiar with.

RobWords is the perfect host to walk us through all of this. As someone who has taken such a strong interest in language as a whole, he is a natural choice to explain collective nouns. He’s a really good teacher and we love all of his videos.

Check out the video below: