Is there anything that all human languages have in common?
With all the diversity in the world’s languages, a true universal is hard to find. But new research has unearthed a principle involving the distances between words, and this discovery has revived a long-standing debate.
Linguist Daniel Midgley keeps it short and sweet 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
Marmoset ‘conversations’ may give clues to evolution of human language
http://news.sciencemag.org/plants-animals/2015/04/marmoset-conversations-may-give-clues-evolution-human-language
Related to PharaohKatt’s post: some of my favourite linguistic developments
http://221–bee.tumblr.com/post/125666704553/some-of-my-favourite-linguistic-developments
Know Your Meme: Doge
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/doge
Know Your Meme: Son, I Am Disappoint
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/son-i-am-disappoint
LOLspeak
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/lolspeak-chanspeak/children
Follow Dog Solutions. It funny
https://twitter.com/DogSolutions
NatGeo: Bonobo “Baby Talk” Reveals Roots of Human Language
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/150808-animals-bonobos-apes-evolution-speech/
Guardian: Bonobos have mastered the art of babytalk, new research shows
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/04/bonobos-mastered-art-of-babytalk-language-evolution
Daily Mail: Bonobos speak like HUMAN BABIES: Apes use high-pitched ‘peeps’ just like infants learning to talk
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3184869/Bonobos-speak-like-HUMAN-BABIES-Apes-use-high-pitched-peeps-just-like-infants-learning-talk.html
Scientific American: Bonobo Peeps May Be Necessary Language Precursors
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/bonobo-peeps-may-be-necessary-language-precursors/
MIT Linguists Say Human Languages Might Be Predictable
https://www.inverse.com/article/5136-mit-linguists-say-human-languages-might-be-predictable
The paper: Large-scale evidence of dependency length minimization in 37 languages
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/07/28/1502134112
MIT Study Suggests a Universal Property of Language
http://languagemagazine.com/?p=124247
All languages have evolved to have this in common
http://news.sciencemag.org/social-sciences/2015/08/all-languages-have-evolved-have-common
More about language universals (PDF)
http://www.uio.no/studier/emner/hf/ikos/EXFAC03-AAS/h05/larestoff/linguistics/Chapter%203.(H05).pdf
Klittra wins the vote in Sweden as the new word for female masturbation. Don’t be surprised if English adopts it. http://t.co/gQjBOnjsN5
— Wordability (@WordabilityHugh) June 23, 2015
Jezebel: Add the Word ‘Klittra’ to Your Sexual Dictionary
http://jezebel.com/add-the-word-klittra-to-your-sexual-dictionary-1712951840
Guardian: Sweden invents a word for girls’ genitals equivalent to ‘willy’ for boys
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/01/sweden-girls-genitals-feminist-invention-snippa-vagina
Swedish children’s TV dancing genitals cartoon sparks parental outcry
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/14/swedish-childrens-tv-cartoon-dancing-sparks-parental-outcry-genitals-penis-vagina-dancing
English remix of Swedish ‘genitals’ song released
http://www.thelocal.se/20150305/english-remix-of-sweden-genitals-song-twinkle-willie
Inevitable dance remix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AWRwd6NlXA
Where does on the dole come from?
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=dole
Image credit: http://news.sciencemag.org/social-sciences/2015/08/all-languages-have-evolved-have-common
Transcript
We’re working our way back through the archives. If you think we should prioritise a transcript of this episode, let us know!
