Category: writing (page 1 of 4)

382: There’s No Enhance Button (with Helen Fraser)

15 October 2019 / / Comments Off on 382: There’s No Enhance Button (with Helen Fraser)

We hear what we expect to hear.

That’s a problem in court, where covert audio recordings are often unclear. Who decides what goes into the transcript that lawyers, judges, and juries will see?

We’re talking to Dr Helen Fraser about …

374: Polari, Britain’s Lost Gay Language (with Paul Baker, Grant Mathumba Thompson, and Alexandra Marley)

5 August 2019 / / Comments Off on 374: Polari, Britain’s Lost Gay Language (with Paul Baker, Grant Mathumba Thompson, and Alexandra Marley)

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 …

358: Mailbag of Mallets

2 April 2019 / / 2 Comments

Again we tackle the questions that others dast not.

  • Why do all children seem to know the nyah nyah song?
  • Why do classic movie stars talk in that strange accent?
  • Do Chinese characters stay readable longer than English words?
  • Who
…

351: A Perfect Alphabet (or, The Royal Tweet)

12 February 2019 / / Comments Off on 351: A Perfect Alphabet (or, The Royal Tweet)

Some deep thoughts are going on at the Palace.

The Royal Family is tweeting about what a perfect alphabet would look like, and how far the English alphabet varies from this ideal. And are there any redundant letters?

Hedvig, …

343: Moon Moons and Reduplication Reduplication

31 October 2018 / / Comments Off on 343: Moon Moons and Reduplication Reduplication

There are some things so nice we say them twice. And when we do, we’re using reduplication.

But this handy device can handle a surprising range of functions in the world’s languages, and it can pop up in the …

315: Grammar Day

28 February 2018 / / 2 Comments

Grammar Day is coming soon. Which rules can you safely ignore?

Is it okay for nouns to become verbs and vice versa? What’s wrong with passive voice? And how can you have a healthy grammar outlook?

Daniel, Ben, …

309: How Linguistic Is Neuro-linguistic Programming?

14 November 2017 / / Comments Off on 309: How Linguistic Is Neuro-linguistic Programming?

Just how linguistic is neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP?

Some people think it can help you win friends and influence people. And a lot of people are making a lot of money from it. But what about its language claims?

Daniel…

307: Sexy Neural Net (featuring Janelle Shane)

31 October 2017 / / Comments Off on 307: Sexy Neural Net (featuring Janelle Shane)

Are you stuck for what to go as for Halloween? AI to the rescue!

A computer scientist is using neural networks to invent Halloween costumes. Do you think you could pull off Punk Tree? Or perhaps Lady Garbage is more …

306: Deception Detection (featuring Victoria Rubin, Sarah Cornwell, and Sophie Richard)

24 October 2017 / / Comments Off on 306: Deception Detection (featuring Victoria Rubin, Sarah Cornwell, and Sophie Richard)

Sometimes it can be hard to tell the real news from the fake news.

But language researchers are building tools that can detect deception online. And they’re working on detecting satire. Can their system spot the fakes better than you …

305: Updating Shakespeare (featuring the artists of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival)

17 October 2017 / / Comments Off on 305: Updating Shakespeare (featuring the artists of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival)

Time to check in on Shakespeare.

Away from the glare of the footlights, the Play On! project is underway to translate all the Bard’s works into Present-Day English. How is it progressing? What’s staying, and what’s going?

We’re talking to …

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