Some parts of the world are packed with languages. Others not so much.
Is there a reason that some places are linguistically dense? Researchers are turning up connections between biological ecology and language ecology.
Xia Hua studies language diversity, and …
When homosexuality was illegal, a secret language brought people together.
In 1960s England, Polari was a creative blend of Romani, Italian, rhyming slang, and backslang, used among the LGBT community. It could be used to communicate, or to identify someone …
It’s a Talk the Talk live show!
We’re working together with Pint of Science to bring science to the pub. But we’re not alone — we’ve got early-career researchers Amy Budrikis and Troy Reynolds to talk about their work in …
North and south? Left and right? Or something else?
Different languages have different ways of talking about space. Sometimes this has to do with the environment of the people who speak them. But what happens when the environment changes?
Daniel…
Does grammar matter?
On one side: the language sticklers, who hold that good grammar is a necessity for communication, and even a matter of upholding standards and courtesy. But there’s another side: that grammar rules are often just made up, …
We love taking questions, and for this episode, we’ve got a lot of them.
What’s behind the things we say, and why is language the way it is? Is calling someone a drop-kick secretly obscene? Why does Germany have so …
It’s not just about the covfefe.
This week, we are buried under an avalanche of words, and we’re trying to dig ourselves out. Yes, covfefe happened, but Wonder Woman has also given rise to an ascendant gynocracy. And what …
Puns. Some people love them, some people hate them.
But why do some people find puns so exasperating? And why do we make them anyway? What’s it like to be on the receiving end of a rapid-fire pun off?
Daniel…
Why does everyone ❤️ and 😡 emoji?
Emoji have been received enthusiastically in our electronic communication, and yet complaints about them continue. Is there anything wrong with using them? Are they really the equivalent of modern-day hieroglyphics? Do they represent …
They’ll, we’ve, you’re, and even ain’t.
This week, we’re having contractions, but not the muscular kind — the word kind! We squash words together all the time, but why? And how well can you recognise them?…
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