Language is tough. Unless you’re a human! If you’re a computer, it’s another story.
Fortunately, one professor is taking on the task of helping computational researchers understand how semantics informs human communication.
We’re having a chat with Emily Bender of this episode of Talk the Talk.
Listen to this episode
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Full interview
I had the chance to catch up with Professor Emily Bender of the University of Washington. We were both at the annual conference of the ACL (Association for Computational Linguistics) in Melbourne, where she gave a great workshop called 100 Things You Always Wanted to Know about Semantics & Pragmatics But Were Afraid to Ask (For Fear of Being Told 1,000 More). So of course I had to ask her for an interview and she said YES. It’s a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy.
Thanks to Professor Bender for her insight and expertise! Also thanks to the ACL for making this interview possible.
Also at https://www.patreon.com/posts/20991322
Animation
by the Mystery Animator
Cutting Room Floor
Does your language have a different word for pregnant if it’s a non-human that’s expecting?
Hedvig blows our minds by explaining the present perfect.
And if you think controlling a sex toy over the web is something, there are all kinds of other ways to play.
Also at https://www.patreon.com/posts/21104280
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Show notes
Mormons don’t want to be called Mormons anymore
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/mormons-don-t-want-to-be-called-mormons-anymore
CLICS: Database of Cross-Linguistic Colexifications
https://clics.clld.org
Style Guide – The Name of the Church
https://www.mormonnewsroom.org.au/style-guide
Slides: ACL 2018 Tutorial: 100 Things You Always Wanted to Know about Semantics & Pragmatics But Were Afraid to Ask*
http://faculty.washington.edu/ebender/100things-sem_prag.html
Word of the Month: spill (PDF)
http://lib.oup.com.au/general/Dictionaries/WOTM/2015/WOTM_May_2015.pdf
I Dressed As Ariana Grande for a Week
https://www.elle.com/fashion/celebrity-style/a22678310/i-dressed-as-ariana-grande-for-a-week/
Emily van der Nagel: ‘Networks that work too well’: intervening in algorithmic connections
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1329878X18783002?journalCode=miad
The 20-Year Patent on Teledildonics Has Expired
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/ne55x8/teledildonics-patent-has-expired
Teledildonics Startups Are Pumped This Cockblocking Patent Is Dead
https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2018/08/teledildonics-startups-are-pumped-this-cockblocking-patent-is-dead/
Consonant harmony and the etymology of brimstone and pilgrim
Google Books link
Transcript
We’re working our way back through the archives. If you think we should prioritise a transcript of this episode, let us know!
29 August 2018 at 8:47 pm
“To hang a lantern on” means to call attention to something. I’ve only heard it used in the context of writing a script and explaining away an inconvenient element, dues ex-style.
23 September 2018 at 5:23 am
Lampshade Hanging is what Hedvig described. I’m addicted to a website called tvtropes which is where I heard it. A link to the specific page below.
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LampshadeHanging