Because Language - a podcast about linguistics, the science of language.

It's our Words of the Year episode, where we do a vibe check on all the words and name one of them our Because Language Word of the Year. We're joined by Grammar Girl Mignon Fogarty and a lot of frien...

21 Joulu 20241h 42min

What's in the linguistic news? Diego knows. He's been tracking down stories and words for us all year long, and now he's curated an entire show for us. It's the latest in the Diego series. How do you...

18 Joulu 20241h 4min

Minority languages are under threat everywhere, but Tibet represents a particularly difficult challenge. The Tibetan language family is under pressure from (no surprise) Mandarin, even as community su...

6 Joulu 20242h 35min

We're joined for the first time by Douglas Harper, proprietor of the world-renowned Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com). He's here to help us with our Mailbag questions, and even test us in a...

16 Marras 20241h 24min

Language is a lot like love. You can enjoyably lose yourself in both. They can both be dangerous. And they both entail a responsibility to keep each other safe. A new book Linguaphile: A Life of Langu...

29 Loka 20242h 7min

What one thing explains the most about language? Here to answer that question is linguist and friend of the pod Dr Mark Ellison — and many of our listeners and friends. It's one of our Deck Chats! Gra...

23 Syys 20241h 21min

For our 500th episode, we got together with our great listeners for their words, stories, and inspiration. It's a look back at the show, a look at language from our friends' point of view, and a celeb...

15 Syys 20241h 36min

Can you hear them? Only if you're meant to. Political dogwhistles exploit lack of knowledge in one group to send a coded message to another group. But that's just the beginning. How are dogwhistles di...

26 Elo 20241h 44min