History and Philosophy of the Language Sciences

In this interview, we talk to Nick Thieberger about the value of historical documentation for linguistic research, and how this documentation can be preserved and made accessible today and in the future in digital form. Download | Spotify | Apple … Read more ›

In this episode, we talk to Mary Laughren about research into the languages of Central Australia in the mid-twentieth century, with a focus on the contributions of American linguist Ken Hale. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References … Read more ›

In this episode, we examine the formalist aspects of the linguistic work of Edward Sapir and Leonard Bloomfield, and see how their methods were turned into the doctrines of distributionalism by the following generation. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts … Read more ›

In this episode, we discuss the leading American linguist Leonard Bloomfield and his connections to the psychological school of behaviourism and the philosophical doctrines of logical positivism. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 32 Primary … Read more ›

In this episode, we explore the historical background to linguistic relativity or the so-called ‘Sapir-Whorf hypothesis’. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 31 Primary sources Boas, Franz, ed. (1911), Handbook of American Indian Languages, Part … Read more ›

In this episode we talk to Andrew Garrett about the life, work and legacy of American anthropologist Alfred Kroeber. Kroeber achieved a number of firsts in American anthropology: he was Boas’ first Columbia PhD and the first professor of anthropology … Read more ›

In this interview, we talk to Marcin Kilarski about the history of the documentation and description of the languages of North America. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 29 Primary sources Bloomfield, Leonard. 1946. “Algonquian”. … Read more ›

In this episode, we begin our exploration of American linguistics by looking at the innovative contributions of Franz Boas (1858–1942) and his circle of students. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 28 Primary sources Bastian, … Read more ›

In this interview, we talk to Peter Trudgill about how the structure of speaker communities may influence the structure of languages. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 27 Aronoff, Mark. 1994. Morphology by itself: stems and … Read more ›

In this interview, we talk to Philipp Krämer about the history of the study of creole languages and present-day efforts to standardise creoles around the world. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 26 Primary sources … Read more ›

In this interview, we talk to Felicity Meakins about Pidgins, Creoles, and mixed languages. We discuss what they are, and how they are viewed in both linguistic scholarship and in speaker communities. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube … Read more ›

In this interview, we talk to Lorenzo Cigana about Louis Hjelmslev and the Copenhagen Linguistic Circle. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 24 Primary Sources ‘Travail collectif du Cercle linguistique de Copenhague’, in Proceedings of … Read more ›

In this interview, we talk to Noam Chomsky about the intellectual environment in which generative grammar emerged. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 23 Primary Sources Bloomfield, Leonard (1933). Language. New York: Henry Holt and … Read more ›

In this interview, we talk to Christopher Hutton about linguistic scholarship under National Socialism and how this relates to linguistics today. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 22 Primary Sources Boas, Franz (1911), Handbook of … Read more ›

In this episode, we look at psychologist Karl Bühler’s (1879–1963) Organon model of communication and observe its influence on the linguists Nikolai Trubetzkoy (1890–1938) and Roman Jakobson (1896–1982), who were associated with the Prague Circle. Download | Spotify | Apple … Read more ›

In this interview, we continue the theme of the previous episode and talk to Jacqueline Léon about John Rupert Firth (1890–1960), Bronisław Malinowski (1884–1942) and the London School. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 20 … Read more ›

In this episode, we look at the central role the analysis of meaning played in British linguistics in the first half of the twentieth century. We focus on the work of John Rupert Firth (1890–1960) and Bronisław Malinowski (1884–1942) and … Read more ›

In this interview, we talk to H. Walter Schmitz about pioneer of semiotics Victoria Lady Welby. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts References for Episode 18 Primary Sources Hayakawa, Samuel Ichiyé (1939), Language in Thought and Action, New York: ‎ … Read more ›

In this episode, we take a step back to explore the earliest beginnings of functional linguistics as represented by the work of Philipp Wegener. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 17 Primary Sources Bréal, Michel … Read more ›

In this episode, we talk to Chloé Laplantine about the life and work of French structuralist Émile Benveniste. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 16 Primary Sources Annuaire du Collège de France. 1937-1938. Paris: Ernest … Read more ›

In this episode, we enter the age of classical structuralism by exploring the phonological research of Roman Jakobson and his colleague Nikolai Trubetzkoy undertaken within the Prague Linguistic Circle. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode … Read more ›

In this interview, we talk to Michael Ashby about the emergence and development of phonetics in the 19th and early 20th century. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 14 Primary Sources Brücke, Ernst Wilhelm von … Read more ›

In this interview, we talk to John Joseph about Ferdinand de Saussure. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 13 Primary Sources Arnauld, Antoine and Claude Lancelot (1660), Grammaire générale et raisonnée contenant les fondemens de … Read more ›

In this episode, we look at Ferdinand de Saussure’s contributions to linguistics, which are widely considered to be foundational to the later movement of structuralism. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 12 Primary Sources Bloomfield, … Read more ›

In this interview, we talk to Floris Solleveld about the character of linguistic research in the 19th century. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube References for Episode 11 Primary Sources Adelung, Johann Christoph and Johann Severin Vater (1806–1817), … Read more ›