Where did our language start? Image

Where did our language start?

5 March 2024 - 21 mins
Podcast Series Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

971. Linguists have traced modern languages like English and Sanskrit back thousands of years to a single Proto-Indo-European source. This week, we explore their detective work and the debates around the origins of the ancestral tongue.

This piece was written by Kurt Kleiner, a freelance science and technology writer living in Toronto. It originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, a digital publication dedicated to making scientific knowledge accessible to all. Explore the latest at knowablemagazine.org.

| Edited transcript with links: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/indo-european/transcript

| Grammarpalooza (Get texts from Mignon!): https://joinsubtext.com/grammar or text "he...

21 mins

Series Episodes

Metaphors and your brain. How figurative language works, with Dr. Vicky Lai

Metaphors and your brain. How figurative language works, with Dr. Vicky Lai

1098. We talk with cognitive scientist Dr. Vicky Lai about how frequently we use metaphors and what happens in our brains when we hear them. We also look at her research on irony and its effect on emotion, and how people recovering from cancer use metaphors differently depending on how they're doing.

19 mins

10 July Finished

Can you have a million bacons? Martha's Vineyard's unique sound.

Can you have a million bacons? Martha's Vineyard's unique sound.

1097. Do you wonder whether "bacon" can be plural? We look at the difference between countable and uncountable nouns. Then, we look at how the Martha's Vineyard accent developed and what it tells us about language and society.

17 mins

8 July Finished

The surprising history (and politics) of emoji, with Keith Houston

The surprising history (and politics) of emoji, with Keith Houston

1096. This week, we look at the world of emoji with Keith Houston, author of "Face with Tears of Joy." He discusses the long history of emoji, from ancient origins to early computer character sets, and the formal process of proposing new emoji to the Unicode Consortium. We also look at how emoji can be blends of multiple characters and tell us more about cultural, generational, and political attitudes.

28 mins

3 July Finished

Is ‘sick’...good? What we think of posh language and class. Misunderseed

Is ‘sick’...good? What we think of posh language and class. Misunderseed

1095. Is “sick” really “good”? This week, we look at how words flip their meanings and why language changes over time. Then, we look at the 1950s idea of "U and Non-U English" and what it tells us about social climbing.

17 mins

1 July Finished

The language of children’s storytelling, with Doug Fraser

The language of children’s storytelling, with Doug Fraser

1094. Have you ever wondered about the linguistic techniques behind popular children's podcasts? This week, we talk with Doug Fraser, also known as Dougie Pickles from the "Cozy Critters" podcast, who explains his strategic use of language to soothe and captivate kids. We also hear his insights on what makes successful children's content, including the importance of varied sentence length, the power of word choice and musicality in language.

19 mins

26 June Finished

Why we drop sounds. ChatGPT is changing how people talk. Kombi

Why we drop sounds. ChatGPT is changing how people talk. Kombi

1093. Why do we say “prob’ly” instead of “probably”? This week, we look at elision in everyday speech. Then, we look at a wild study showing that the way people talk is being influenced by AI.

17 mins

24 June Finished

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