Akimbo. Throes. Tizzy.
Some words only appear in limited contexts. But what do they mean? The fascinating histories of these words can tell us more about how English works — and language in general.
We’re in tatters — or …
Category: Old English (page 1 of 2)
The questions never stop, and neither do we.
- What’s the past tense of yeet, and why is English past tense so strange?
- Can etymology help you spell rhythm?
- Should French teachers have to speak with a Parisian accent?
Imagine watching your language erode away.
How would you help it to stay alive? What can one person do in the face of language loss? There’s good news: lots of people are taking up the challenge and becoming language activists. …
Other languages have good ideas too, you know.
Have you noticed something cool about another language, and wished English did that? Is there any feature of another language that you wish English had?
Daniel and Hedvig are engaging in a …
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? …
Is there anything to the story of the Tower of Babel?
It’s a legend about why human languages are so different. So was there really only one human language a long time ago? Maybe — but how does this match …
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 …
We get a lot of feedback from listeners.
So for this episode, we decided to answer questions, and settle some scores. We even ask the musical question: “How do you alphabetise your music collection?”
All on this episode of Talk …
Is it octopuses or octopi? What about mongooses? Are they mongeese?
Sure, you can use plural –s, but do you know your way around the unusual plurals of English?
Have no fear — linguist Daniel …
Yes and no.
You use these words all the time, but how often do you think about them? They’re not nouns, they’re not verbs, so what are they? Why do we nod our heads yes and shake our heads …
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- CBAA Awards 2018: Best Radio Program — Talk
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- Talkley Award 2018
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