The human family got a new branch this week with the appearance of Homo naledi, a new species of human.
But did they have language? And how can we tell from a lot of old bones?
It’s early yet, but linguist Daniel Midgley puts the pieces together on this episode of Talk the Talk.
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Show notes
A New Hampshire university’s language guide says students should avoid using the word ‘American’
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-new-hampshire-universitys-language-guide-launches-war-of-words-2015-7?IR=T
University president offended by bias-free language guide
http://college.usatoday.com/2015/07/30/university-president-offended-by-bias-free-language-guide/
Lawmakers May Punish A University For Being Too Politically Correct
http://dailycaller.com/2015/09/04/lawmakers-may-punish-a-university-for-being-too-politically-correct/
Jonathan Turley: University of Tennessee Considers Adopting Gender Neutral Pronouns Like “Ze,” “Hir,” and “Xyr” To Avoid Discrimination
http://jonathanturley.org/2015/08/28/university-of-tennessee-considers-adopting-gender-neutral-pronouns-like-ze-hir-and-xyr-to-avoid-discrimination/
Dennis Baron: The gender-neutral pronoun: after 150 years still an epic fail
https://illinois.edu/blog/view/25/31097
Some notes on singular ‘they’
https://illinois.edu/blog/view/25
Are gender-neutral pronouns the wave of the future?
http://www.grammarly.com/blog/2015/are-gender-neutral-pronouns-the-wave-of-the-future/
Gender-neutral pronouns: The big list
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-specific_and_gender-neutral_pronouns#Preferred_pronouns
Study: Sperm whales speak in ‘clan dialects’
http://www.treehugger.com/animals/study-sperm-whales-speak-local-dialects.html
Sperm Whales’ Language Reveals Hints of Culture
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150908-sperm-whale-culture-vocalizations-animals-oceans-galapagos-science/
Science says sperm whales live in clans and learn a ‘language’
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/science-says-sperm-whales-live-in-clans-and-learn-a-language-2015-9
Homo naledi: Unanswered questions about the newest human species
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28152-homo-naledi-unanswered-questions-about-the-newest-human-species/
Homo naledi: New species of human ancestor discovered in South Africa
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/10/africa/homo-naledi-human-relative-species/index.html
New species of human relative, Homo naledi, found in underground graveyard in Cradle of Humankind in South Africa
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-10/new-species-of-human-relative-found-in-underground-graveyard/6765466
This Face Changes the Human Story. But How?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150910-human-evolution-change/
New, Tiny-Brained Human Found in South African Cave
http://news.discovery.com/human/evolution/new-tiny-brained-human-found-in-south-african-cave-150910.htm
Burial, as early as 300,000 years ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_religion
Oxford Dictionaries Online: The quarterly update
http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/08/new-words-update-manspreading-mic-drop/
Online Etymology Dictionary: Spill
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=spill
Online Etymology Dictionary: Oust
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=oust
Tony Abbott #PutYourOnionsOut: How the internet reacted
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-34244573
#putoutyouronions on Twitter
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23putoutyouronions&src=typd
White-anting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_anting
Vale Adrian Frutiger, master of the Univers
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/master-of-the-univers_swiss-font-legend-adrian-frutiger-dies/41659284
Transcript
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