All Things Linguistic

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 117: What makes for beautiful writing, scientifically speakingSometimes, a phrase seems to leap off the page and lodge into your mind, crisp and shining like a...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 116: Cross-cultural communication (in space!)Sometimes, you’re talking with someone and you just seem to click. Other times, you just can’t seem to get comfortable:...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 115: The long shadow of Daisy Bates with This Guy SuckedWhat do you do when the only records that remain of a language were made by someone who had absolutely...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 114: Begonia, average coral, and sea pink - Defining colour terms with Kory Stamperbegonia: a deep pink that is bluer, lighter, and stronger than average coral (see...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 113: Why “it’s a diglossia!” explains so many social dynamicsIn some communities, everyone regularly uses two languages or varieties according to the social...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 112: When language become-s(3SG) linguistic example-s(PL)Language is all around us. This sentence right here, is language! But between the raw experience of someone...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 111: Whoa!! A surprise episode??? For me??!!Wait, surprise is associated with a particular intonation!? Oh, you can see surprise by measuring electricity from your...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 110: The history of the history of Indo-European - Interview with Danny BateBefore there was English, or Latin, or Czech, or Hindi, there was a language that they all...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 109: On the nose - How the nose shapes languageWe often invoke the idea of language by showing the mouth or the hands. But the nose is important to both signed and...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 108: Highs and lows of tone in Babanki - Interview with Pius AkumbuLinguistic research has its highs and lows: from staging a traditional wedding to learn about...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 107: Urban MultilingualismWhen we try to represent languages on a map, it’s common to assign each language a zone or a point which represents some idea of where it’s...

lingthusiasm:Episode 106: Is a hotdog a sandwich? The problem with definitionsWe asked you if a burrito was a sandwich, and you said ‘no’. We asked you if ravioli was a sandwich and you said 'heck...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 105: Linguistics of TikTok - Interview with Adam Aleksic aka EtymologyNerdTikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts are an evolving genre of media: short-form,...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 104: Reading and language play in Sámi - Interview with Hanna-Máret OutakoskiWhen we talk about language reclamation, we often think about oral traditions. But at...

lingthusiasm:103: A hand-y guide to gestureGestures: every known language has them, and there’s a growing body of research on how they fit into communication. But academic literature can be hard to...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 102: The science and fiction of Sapir-WhorfIt’s a fun science fiction trope: learn a mysterious alien language and acquire superpowers, just like if you’d been zapped...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 101: Micro to macro - The levels of languageWhen we first learn about nature, we generally start with the solid mid-sized animals: cats, dogs, elephants, tigers,...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 100: A hundred reasons to be enthusiastic about linguisticsThis is our hundredth episode that’s enthusiastic about linguistics! To celebrate, we’ve put together 100...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 99: A politeness episode, if you pleaseIf it wouldn’t be too much trouble, if you have a spare half hour, could we possibly suggest that you might enjoy listening to...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 98: Helping computers decode sentences - Interview with Emily M. BenderWhen a human learns a new word, we’re learning to attach that word to a set of concepts in the...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 97: OooOooh~~ our possession episode oOooOOoohh 👻Eye of newt and toe of frog,Wool of bat and tongue of dog…In this episode, your hosts Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 96: Welcome back aboard the metaphor train! We’re taking you on a journey to new linguistic destinations, so come along for the ride and don’t forget to hold on! In...

lingthusiasm:95: Lo! An undetached collection of meaning-parts! Imagine you’re in a field with someone whose language you don’t speak. A rabbit scurries by. The other person says “Gavagai!” You...

dashboarddiaries:Every Tumblr user knows that we Tumblrinas use language a little differently. We’re not like other social media users. We’re weird. We’re weirdos. And this month, we have actual...

lingthusiasm:Lingthusiasm Episode 94: The perfectly imperfect aspect episodeWhen we’re talking about an activity – say, throwing teacups in a lake – we often want to know not just when the action...