Category: language change (page 2 of 4)

265: Universal Grammar 2 (featuring Dan Everett and Lynne Murphy)

The biggest idea in linguistics is back on the table.

Is there such a thing as the Universal Grammar? Do you have to have a human brain to learn language, or is learning a language just like learning anything else? …

250: Comma Sutra (featuring Louisa Fitzhardinge)

The Talk the Talk team is taking a break, but Daniel jumped at the chance to speak to Louisa Fitzhardinge, whose new comedy show ‘Comma Sutra’ looks at the lighter side of the use — and misuse — of …

241: Emoji Disasters

What happens when emoji go wrong?

We all love to use emoji, but their inherent ambiguity means that misunderstandings can happen — not only across cultures, but across devices.

Linguist Daniel Midgley makes it clear on this episode of Talk

238: Questions, Questions

Our listeners have questions, and we have answers.

Why do we say boo? or a whole ‘nother? And our Latin-minded friends have a few questions, as well.

Linguist Daniel Midgley answers them all on this episode of Talk

233: Comedy in Translation (featuring Kuah Jenhan)

A joke’s a joke, but is it still funny in translation? How does a comic have to adapt things for different language audiences? And what’s going on in Malaysia’s burgeoning comedy scene?

Multilingual writer and comedian Kuah Jenhan is in …

225: Shakespeare in Translation 1 (featuring Lue Douthit)

Shakespeare’s plays have been with us for 400 years. Is it time for an update?

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has commissioned all the Bard’s plays to be translated into contemporary English. How will this work? And what’s the reaction?

Oregon …

224: Bad Linguistics

Did the Australian accent appear as a result of drunkenness?

Is texting a sign of declining literacy?

Is business jargon killing English?

Of course not. It’s rubbish. All of it. But when bad linguistics comes to town, few can resist …

219: Eggcorns

Have you heard of eggcorns?

They’re off-quoted sayings that sometimes reel their ugly heads, and some might just leave you curled up in the feeble position.

Are they wrong? That might be a bit of a mute point. …

215: Is Cantonese Endangered? (featuring Zoe Lam)

When we think of endangered languages, we tend to think of those with a small number of speakers in remote areas.

We don’t usually think of Cantonese.

And yet this language with millions of speakers on multiple continents is facing …

214: Whistled Languages

Human language isn’t all about speech — some communication happens by whistling.

Whistled languages are found around the world, and they give us a chance to learn about language and the brain. How do they work? And why are they …

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