Linguistics After Dark

Episode 2: Juno's Geese

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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 [email protected], 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!

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