Category: typology

338: Signed Language (featuring Ulrike Zeshan and Christy Filipich)

18 September 2018 / / Comments Off on 338: Signed Language (featuring Ulrike Zeshan and Christy Filipich)

The International Day of Signed Languages is upon us.

If we could look at all the signed languages in the world, what would they have in common? What misconceptions do hearing people have? And what is International Sign?

It’s all on this …

336: Kinship Terms

4 September 2018 / / Comments Off on 336: Kinship Terms

What do you call your family members? No, not like that.

We’re talking about kinship terms. How does your language handle family relations? Do you call your grandmothers on your mom and dad’s side the same thing? What’s a second …

322: Sense of Direction (featuring Alice Gaby)

24 April 2018 / / Comments Off on 322: Sense of Direction (featuring Alice Gaby)

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…

317: With Big Data Comes Big Responsibility (featuring Seán Roberts)

13 March 2018 / / Comments Off on 317: With Big Data Comes Big Responsibility (featuring Seán Roberts)

That study about language looks interesting. Can you trust the results?

Lots of researchers are using big data to discover amazing things about language. But big data can bring big trouble if researchers don’t look out for some common traps. …

313: That’s Cool. That’s Hot. (featuring Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm)

13 February 2018 / / Comments Off on 313: That’s Cool. That’s Hot. (featuring Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm)

Boiling with rage. A warm embrace. A cool time in a hot town.

How do we think about heat and cold, and how does this work its way into language? And does this have anything to do with what the …

282: Why Subject First? (featuring Hedvig Skirgård)

4 April 2017 / / Comments Off on 282: Why Subject First? (featuring Hedvig Skirgård)

This episode going to love you are!

Here’s a linguistic puzzle: Why does “I like you” sound okay, but “Like you I” sounds weird and Yoda-ish? Well, that’s just how English rolls: subjects come first. But surprisingly, most other human …

274: Linguistic Activism (featuring Christine Mallinson)

7 February 2017 / / Comments Off on 274: Linguistic Activism (featuring Christine Mallinson)

How can you make a difference to language?

Linguists are doing a lot of great work, but what if you’re not a linguist? Is there anything that you can do to make the world a better place for language and …

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