All Episodes

September 3, 2023 134 mins

Wherein we #GiveLinguistsSwords. (Please note that this recording cut out a lot of background noise and claps/cheers, so if there is a weird volume jump up or down, that might be why.)


Jump right to:

  • 00:04:42 Is syntax fake?

  • 00:10:14 Favorite and least favorite words

  • 00:23:48 How has profanity evolved with language?

  • 00:34:40 What are the rules for onomatopoeia and how do they differ across languages?

  • 00:41:13 What is lenition?

  • 00:47:56 How do puns work in other languages?

  • 01:02:15 What are fricatives?

  • 01:02:33 The LxAD backstory

  • 01:06:19 The first time we bring up L’Académie

  • 01:08:12 Dead languages work poorly on the internet

  • 01:12:44 Best stories of word mix-ups

  • 01:18:12 How do colors work in different languages?

  • 01:29:01 “It’s all Greek to me”

  • 01:29:55 Where did the word orange come from?

  • 01:31:36 Dialect-dependent homophones

  • 01:34:56 What’s the most useless part of language?

  • 01:40:29 Why is English spelling wonderful?

  • 01:59:42 Sarah has to pronounce the hardest IPA sounds

  • 02:07:30 The Thing At The End

Covered in this episode:

  • Kewpie mayo

  • That feeling you get when someone else is suffering and you’re just glad it’s not you

  • How to be rude and insulting but still G-rated

  • Translator love

  • SWORDS

  • On a scale of dead to Amish…

  • How to accidentally come on to someone in Spanish and ASL

  • Cappuccinos

  • Moose

  • Dessus vs. dessous


Links and other post-show thoughts:

Ask us questions:

Send your questions (text or voice memo) to questions@linguisticsafterdark.com, or find us as @lxadpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, & Facebook.

Credits:

Linguistics After Dark is produced by Emfozzing Enterprises. Luca edits, Sarah does show notes, transcription is a team effort. Our music is “Covert Affair” by Kevin MacLeod. Join us at linguisticsafterdark.com/volunteer!

And until next time… if you weren’t consciously aware of your tongue in your mouth, now you are :)

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