There’s a lot of data out there.
And people are using it to find some pretty interesting patterns. Whether it’s finding global superdialects, or inferring language similarity from the errors of English learners, computers are expanding our language horizons.
Linguist Daniel Midgley brings you the world on this episode of Talk the Talk.
Listen to this episode
You can listen to all the episodes of Talk the Talk by pasting this URL into your podlistener.
http://danielmidgley.com/talkthetalk/talk_classic.xmlPromo
Show notes
Oxford Dictionaries Online releases its quarterly list of new words
http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2014/08/oxford-dictionaries-update-august-2014/
A formative moment in comedy: Danny Thomas’s first spit-take
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYunEHgpRF8
Computational Linguistics of Twitter Reveals the Existence of Global Superdialects
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/529836/computational-linguistics-of-twitter-reveals-the-existence-of-global-superdialects/
Using Twitter, Linguists Find Global ‘Superdialects’
http://www.newsweek.com/linguists-find-superdialects-twitter-263622
The article
http://arxiv.org/abs/1407.7094
Some linguists on Reddit are snarky about this.
http://www.reddit.com/r/linguistics/comments/2cwazr/computational_linguistics_of_twitter_reveals_the/
Linguists on r/badlinguistics, especially so.
http://www.reddit.com/r/badlinguistics/comments/2cyldy/since_studying_dialects_is_hard_work_compling/
Here’s How Foreign Language Speakers Typically Screw Up English
(Despite the uncharitable title, it’s a good article.)
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/common-esl-mistakes-2014-8
MIT press release
https://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/essays-english-yield-information-about-other-languages-0723
The Word Atlas of Linguistic Structures is a fascinating way to pass the time.
http://wals.info/
About how long would it take for an English speaker to learn another language?
http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5384e031eab8ea5f2ef4b401-860-3034/voxy%20language%20graphic.png
THE: The Loudest Word in Rock and Roll
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/08/whats-in-a-band-name-the/378710/?single_page=true
Some bands are even using “Thee”
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0711B&L=ADS-L&P=R8053&I=-3
12 September 2014 at 10:16 pm
Hello Daniel and Ben, from the North Pacific coast of North America! I've been a TTT podcast listener for some time, and have just started livestreaming RTR, on the strength of your show. Sole problem: neither their site nor yours mentions when I can hear you on-air. (Why are you not on the programme grid??)
So… can you tell me what WA day and time I can catch you "old school"?
Thanks. Love the show!
Robin
Rusty Ring: Reflections of an Old-Timey Hermit
13 September 2014 at 7:36 am
Gosh, someone from the homeland. Great to hear from you!
You can stream us on RTRfm on Tuesdays at around 11:30 am, West Australian time. In the Pacific NW, you'll be either 15 or 16 hours behind us, depending on DST.
I've updated our "How to get Talk the Talk" page to reflect this.
13 September 2014 at 5:51 pm
Great! When I'm awake at that hour, I'll tune in! (And continue to listen on podcast the rest of the time.) And a pleasure to hear from someone else who must frequently experience WA Confusion. (We know who we are.) Like Steven Wright says: "It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it."
Robin
Rusty Ring: Reflections of an Old-Timey Hermit