What’s going to happen to French?
We’re getting conflicting reports. While English-speaking pundits gloat over the decline in French influence, population shifts may see French becoming the next big thing. And French still has a lot of prestige. So what’s …
One, two, three… Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
And yet different languages express numbers in very different ways. How are they handled in our brains? And how did –illion get to be the suffix for truly astronomical sums?
Linguist Daniel …
Did Melania Trump really plagiarise that speech?
Yeah, she totally did. But how can you tell if someone is copying someone else’s work? How do plagiarism checkers work? And can you beat them?
Linguist Daniel Midgley shows his work on …
We’re talking about Singapore Colloquial English, or Singlish.
The Singaporean government would love to wipe it out, but Singlish is gaining prestige in the English-speaking world. Oxford is even adding Singlish words to its dictionary. But what is this …
Ever read a language story, and felt something was a bit off?
Does your keyboard layout affect how you feel about words? Is it true that people couldn’t see the colour blue until modern times? How are you supposed to …
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 …
Hinglish. It’s not Hindi. It’s not English. So what is it?
It’s a hybrid language spoken by about 350 million Indian people. And it’s getting bigger all the time. But what’s it like, and what function does it have for …
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 …
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 …
Are you, or have you ever been a bogan?
Bogan English doesn’t get a lot of respect, but one linguist is transcending social boundaries to bring Bogan Linguistics to the world.
Linguist Roz Rowen cracks a tinny with Daniel Midgley…
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