65: Naval Manoeuvres (with Chase Dalton)
Many expressions we use come from the nautical domain. But are they nautical? Are they really? We’ve got Chase Dalton from the US Naval History Podcast to shine a light on some of these expressions, and in some cases reveal the secret nautical origins of words we use every day. US Naval History Podcast on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts
7 Dec 20221h 27min
64: Struggle Pile (with Kelly Wright)
A chat with Dr Kelly Wright, who’s been working on… well, really a lot. Kelly is at the juncture of a lot of areas we’re keen on. Oxford’s effort to document African-American English? She’s been there. Doing lexicography with the American Dialect Society? She’s on it. The LSA’s social media committee? She… was on it. And she’s been looking into a new unexplored area: people’s ideas about their own language knowledge. But it’s not all easy. And Kelly is here to tell us about her view of linguistics… from the struggle pile.
20 Nov 20221h 56min
63: Mailbag of Yeah-No (with Isabelle Burke)
Just two words, but they do so much. But what exactly? Here to answer that question is Dr Isabelle Burke, who has studied yeah-no in depth. She’s also going to help us with these Mailbag questions. Why is LIKE so resilient? Why can we say “I very much enjoy…” but not “I much enjoy…” or “I very enjoy…”? When is a loanword not a loanword? Do word processors have a problem with singular THEY? Why doesn’t English have diacritics?
3 Nov 20221h 27min
62: Language in Spaaaaace (with Hannah Little)
Yes, linguistics is all through the world of sci-fi, but science fiction has had a surprising impact on linguistic research as well. Dr Hannah Little is cataloguing the ways in a new book, and she joins us for this episode.
22 Okt 20221h 47min
61: Together at Last
It’s Ben, Hedvig, and Daniel all together in the same place for the first time. We’re talking about the state of the show, the state of linguistics communication, and where we are after all these years.
8 Okt 20221h 15min
60: The Crossworld (with Hayley Gold)
Language isn’t just for communication — it’s fun. For over a hundred years, crosswords have served as entertainment, and even been blamed for society’s ills. Turns out crosswords are serious business. Author and illustrator of Letters to Margaret and crossword enthusiast Hayley Gold takes us into the history and the discussions happening in the world of crosswords — the Crossworld. You can buy Hayley’s book Letters to Margaret at this link: https://shop.lonesharkgames.com/collections/letters-to-margaret
13 Sep 20221h 49min
59: Mailbag of Ew
In which we get together for a chat, talk about stuff we like, and — oh, yeah — answers a few questions from our great listeners. Other languages have a word for late morning, before noon. Why doesn’t English have one? Why is EW the sound some English speakers make when disgusted? Why can you have potatoes, but not broccolis? Who started calling the YouTube description the DOOBLEYDOO? Is it WHOA or WOAH? Why do we use capital i for the pronoun I?
30 Aug 20221h 13min
58: Expression Unleashed (with Thom Scott-Phillips and Joshua Blackburn)
Today, we communicate. But once, we didn’t. What had to happen in our brains to make communication possible? And why don’t other animals do it like we do? We talk to Dr Thom Scott-Phillips about his new work in the social and cognitive origins of communication. And game creator Joshua Blackburn is going to test Daniel’s linguistic prowess with questions from the hottest game on Kickstarter, League of the Lexicon.
3 Aug 20221h 46min
