Wherein we discuss how linguistics is everywhere but linguists are nowhere, and introduce the concept of the unsolicited etymology swear jar.
Jump right to:
- 01:33 “Universal” word lists, bad puns, and university “field work” stories
- 07:25 What composes an accent? What counts as a dialect? What about “little kid speak”?
- 24:16 What are the most valuable ways linguistics can improve society?
- 45:45 Favorite ridiculous etymologies
- 54:31 The puzzler: What do the words JOB, POLISH, and HERB have in common?
Covered in this episode:
- We love Car Talk
- Dialects and accents often overlap but are not the same thing
- Dialects and registers also often overlap but are not the same thing
- Obligatory “A language is just a dialect with an army and a navy.”
- Linguistics After Dark has no official positions on contentious geopolitical issues
- Understanding the value of descriptivism and the reality of language evolution
- Hot takes on regional identity in the UK vs North America vs California
- Why don’t journalists know that linguists exist?
- A story that has nothing to do with financial advising, and everything to do with geese
- OK is the only acronym etymology that’s all correct
Links and other post-show thoughts:
- Swadesh’s first name was Morris
- Mutual intelligibility on the Deutsch/Dutch border
- More mutual intelligibility, including Scandinavia, from an A++ YouTube channel
- Victor Mair, coiner of the word topolect
- All sorts of ways linguists and linguistics benefit society
- BBC and Received Pronunciation
- Here are some diagrams about the overlap between linguistics and other fields (this last one is the one Sarah had in mind)
- The Unsolicited Etymology Trivia Jar
- Etymologies of canary, easel, and lettuce
- The full story of what the fuck, geese (spoiler alert: 356≠390)
- And yes, ⟨mint⟩ (where money is printed) is also related to ⟨moneta⟩
- Etymologies of island, isle, OK, and lox (which has a dialectical variation still spelled "lax"!)
Ask us questions:
Send your questions (text or voice memo) to questions@linguisticsafterdark.com, or find us as @lxadpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Credits:
Linguistics After Dark is produced by Emfozzing Enterprises. Eli edits, Jenny transcribes, and Sarah does show notes. Our music is “Covert Affair” by Kevin MacLeod.
Thanks for listening!
