Tomayto Tomahto

We did it, Joe: Tomayto Tomahto has been in existence for over a year. That's one year, 12 episodes, and way too many instances of editing audio into the wee hours of the morning. But it's all been worth it. In this episode, I'm joined by Professor Donna Jo Napoli from Swarthmore College—an absolute legend in the field of linguistics. She's an author, a mathematician, a linguist, a...

What if I told you that it was ChatGPT, not I, who wrote each and every one of these scintillating episode descriptions? Well, you'd probably laugh uncontrollably at my hilarious joke. Robots can't use the word "scintillating" correctly—or can they? Whether we like it or not, linguistically conscious AI are becoming more and more prevalent. In light of the decline in actual writing, I thought it w...

This is a truly interdisciplinary episode. Pressor Susan Blum (Notre Dame) is an anthropologist, a cultural, linguistical,  anthropologist. We talk about the intersections between linguistics, politics, legislation, food, semiotics, literary theory, pedagogy, as well as such icons as Saussure and CS Pierce. In other other words, this is a truly teleological episode, one that will teach y...

Ladies an gentleman...the director of Brown's Language and Thought Lab: Professor Roman Feiman!! Have you ever wondered about the intersection between psychology and linguistics? Well, wonder no more. Listen to this episode and learn about everything from psycholinguistics, to child language acquisition, to language and thought; semantics and pragmatics; descriptions vs. grammar when mapping w...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Professor Toni Cook is a genius. That's why I'm taking her Intro to Linguistics class at Pomona College. In this episode, Prof Cook and I tackle a lot: language as a tool for social control, the importance of understanding historical linguistics, intensive vs diminutive verb reduplication, various prestigious characteristics of dialects, linguistic colon...

AAAaand I'm back! I'm back with a banger of an episode and a smashing success of a guest: the fabulous Robin Danzak, a professor of Communication Studies at Emerson College. Join me as she takes us on the journey (pun intended) of her career. We'll talk about language and community, bilingualism, antiracist pedagogy, and so much more. We'll travel to Italy, Florida, and New England; we'll touch on...

What's the relationship between language and power? Why are dialects a gatekeeper? What exactly is sociolinguistics? Join me and Professor Heather Littlefield as we discuss the relationships between language and gender, race, ethnicity, economic opportunities, and power. Any study/paper/TedTalk/article/person she mentioned in the interview is linked below. Special thanks to Molly Herman, Lindsay V...

How do languages evolve? Why do dialects emerge and then fade? What happens if a language dies out? What does culture have to do with language? In this episode, Professor Luke Gorton answers all these questions and more. So please, sit back, relax, and welcome into your ears...an actual, real, linguist!  Special thanks to Luke Gorton, Eleza Kort, and Jim Kernohan.  If you have any questi...

Welcome to episode 4, where my interviewees will answer question three: what sorts of privileges and/or limitations does your accent give you? Join me on this emotional journey as I, along with several fully grown adults, unpack our frustration over the fact that people don't talk about accents and dialects more often. Stay tuned for future episodes where I interview college professors! 

Historic milestone alert: this is the 3rd episode of Tomayto Tomahto. I know most of you must be squealing in excitement at the very thought of this podcast's longevity, and so I'll ask you to kindly pipe down so you can fully appreciate this episode in all its glory. In this tertiary episode, you'll hear from the interviewees as they answer question two: what does your accent mean to you and what...

Welcome back to Tomayto Tomahto! For episode two, my interviewees answer question one: How do you define your accent and/or dialect?  Special thanks to Phil Robson, John Lee, Sarah Jacobs, Kate Hamblet, Mark Connolly, Jeanine Bell, Patrice Jean-Baptiste, and Marisela Funes. 

Welcome to Tomayto Tomahto! In this principal episode, you'll learn about accents and dialects: what they are, how they come to be, and what they communicate about a person.  Study by Amee Shah at Stockton University Study by Nicole Holliday at University of Pennsylvania