Linguistics HQ

The usual suspects: an introduction to the Indo-European family

Is it safe to eat a 2000 year old Panini? Are you troubled by eccentric relatives? Should you just Grimm and bear it? Tune into this episode to learn about the origins an

It's all relative: an introduction to language families

How do languages end up with family resemblances? Can two words really be separated at birth? What does your vocabulary have to say about your ancestors? And who invited

Use it or lose it! An introduction to language death

Why are some languages living on borrowed time? Is there life after death for a language? And could your language be next? Tune into this episode to find out the answers

How to lose a language in three generations: an introduction to language shift

Why do grandchildren always seem to answer in the wrong language? Can a language lose a popularity contest? And is language shift just rebranding with better marketing? T

The language remix: an introduction to pidgins and creoles

Could you survive an Arctic trading expedition armed with twenty words and your creativity? When is a pidgin fully fledged? And how can you accidentally invent a language

A double take on contact phenomena: an introduction to code-switching

Do you ever start a sentence in one language and terminarla en otra? Would you like to learn a cunning way to make people think you're bilingual? And the ancient grammari

Grammar on the move: an introduction to syntactic borrowing

Do you know your Balkans from your Baltic? Does that preposition have a passport? And how did the Normans get their own back on us for borrowing so many of their words? T

Finders keepers: an introduction to lexical borrowing

Take a siesta from your schedule, hit the sofa in your pyjamas and rendezvous for a linguistic smorgasbord of loan words! Tune in to this episode to find out why and how

Going back to our roots: an introduction to ethnic identity and mother tongue

How can you trick someone into thinking you're bilingual? What are AAVE, MLE and UBE? And where have the Ancient Greeks got to?! Tune in to find out about how a person's

International Women's Day: pioneering female linguists

Who was behind the decipherment of Linear B? Who was the 'Saxon Nymph'? And was there once a high priestess of linguistics? Tune in to find out about the work of some inf

In a class of its own: an introduction to language and socioeconomic status

What's another name for a precarious proletariat? Do accents open doors - or are they still quietly closing them? And is covert prestige just for secret agents? This epis

Putting linguistics on the map: an introduction to language and geographical origin

Do you know your MLE from your UBE? Are you more of a trapper or a strutter? Do you ever find yourself changing your accent to fit the situation? And is that a thorn in t

Just act your age! An introduction to language and age

Does language use really get worse over time, or are we just getting older? Is slang just too skibidi for a parliamentary speech? And for how long have we been at risk of

He said, she said.....: an introduction to language and gender

What makes a Greek grammarian grumpy? Is it asking for purple but getting midnight aubergine? Or is it appearing in the same podcast episode as Britney Spears and the Kar

When humans first had the last word: an introduction to the origins of language

Have you ever wondered where language actually comes from? Why did humans develop language in a way that other species didn't? And are bow-wow, ding-dong and poo-poo bona

Between the lines: an introduction to pragmatics

Why do we say 'I’ll think about it' when we’ve already decided? What's the difference between 'thanks' and 'thanks'? Could a misplaced emoji start a war? And are you stuc

Meaning business: an introduction to semantics

Have you been mixing your metaphors recently? Are you reticent or reluctant? How can you reanalyse a crayfish? And which deadly device is lurking in your office? This epi

Black History Month: Pioneering black linguists

Is it really possible to succeed academically on four hours sleep a night (and retain your good looks)? What’s the key to getting people to use your new alphabet? And is

The grammar blueprint: an introduction to syntax

Do you know your equative from your versative? Why do some languages play fast and loose with word order? And what did Plato have to say about parts of speech? This episo

What's in a word? An introduction to morphology

Have you ever wondered how new words are made? Or how to avoid getting delayed by a chatty Aztec? Is talk of acronyms giving you FOMO? This episode looks at derivational