How to Learn a Language

By Lindsay DowEducation Language Learning

How to Learn a Language episodes

March 02, 2018Unbelizeable!
Belize isn't like the rest of Central America. Belize speaks English. But that's not the full story...
The Video
Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.
To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.
Support The Show
The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!
Subscribe - by subscribing to the Language Stories podcast in your favourite place and YouTube for the sister videos, you're going to keep up with all future episodes. Woop!
Review - when it comes to the tech stuff, reviews are pretty important. Reviews help to tell iTunes that people like the podcast, and that helps to raise the profile so that new people can find it easily. Yay!
Tell a friend - word of mouth still wins! If you know someone who would love Language Stories, tell them about it. And if they're new to podcasts, walk them through the process to subscribe them. Woohoo!
To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.
Share Your Story
If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.
I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.
Special Guests: Osmer Balam - Northern Belizean Spanish and Timothy McKeon - Creole Specialist.
Links:
Guatemalan Passport - this interesting website has images of all the passport covers in the world. You can see the jaggy line I mention between Guatemala and Belize on this one.
Guatemala Passport Map an Affront to Belizeans - Amandala
Q'eqchi' - Wikipedia
Mopan - Wikipedia
CIA Factbook - A useful list of country sizes. I used this for the size comparisons mentioned in the podcast.
Belize Language Stats - Official stats from the Belizean Government.
National Kriol Council - the useful website of the National Kriol Council has some great references both for the language and culture.
National Garifuna Council - a language we didn't get into in this episode. The website has some useful info on the Garifuna language and culture that spreads beyond Belize to Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua also.
A Spanish Accent, The Economist - an interesting article on the impact of immigration on the languages in Belize.
22 min
January 12, 2018MINI: You Know a Word in Nahuatl
Nahuatl is a language spoken in Mexico that maybe you've never heard of until now. But guess what? You know a word in Nahuatl.
The Video
Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.
To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.
Support The Show
The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!
Subscribe - by subscribing to the Language Stories podcast in your favourite place and YouTube for the sister videos, you're going to keep up with all future episodes. Woop!
Review - when it comes to the tech stuff, reviews are pretty important. Reviews help to tell iTunes that people like the podcast, and that helps to raise the profile so that new people can find it easily. Yay!
Tell a friend - word of mouth still wins! If you know someone who would love Language Stories, tell them about it. And if they're new to podcasts, walk them through the process to subscribe them. Woohoo!
To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.
Share Your Story
If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.
I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.
Special Guest: Siskia Lagomarsino - The Polyglotist.
Links:
Uto-Aztecan Languages on Wikipedia - check the Wikipedia page for an introduction to the Uto-Aztecan family.
The Flower Tree Poem - the whole poem I quote at the end of the podcast.
More Nahuatl poem suggestions - a Quora post with more suggestions for poems in Nahuatl.
An app to learn Nahuatl - if you're curious to learn a few words, this looks like a great start!
Starter Lessons - Self-proclaimed 'Inadequate' Nahuatl Lessons.
11 min
December 29, 2017Maya Isn't Dead
Think of this episode as a bit of a myth buster. Answering the questions you didn't even know you had about a language that you didn't even know still existed: Maya.
THE VIDEO
Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.
To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.
SUPPORT THE SHOW
The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!
Subscribe - by subscribing to the Language Stories podcast in your favourite place and YouTube for the sister videos, you're going to keep up with all future episodes. Woop!
Review - when it comes to the tech stuff, reviews are pretty important. Reviews help to tell iTunes that people like the podcast, and that helps to raise the profile so that new people can find it easily. Yay!
Tell a friend - word of mouth still wins! If you know someone who would love Language Stories, tell them about it. And if they're new to podcasts, walk them through the process to subscribe them. Woohoo!
To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.
SHARE YOUR STORY
If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.
I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.
Special Guests: Mirna Canul Aké - Radio Yúuyum, Pat Boy - Mayan Rapper, and Vicente Canché Móo - Yucatec Maya Expert.
Links:
Photos of the Yuya nests Mirna mentions - The Yucatan Times
End of World in 2012? Maya "Doomsday" Calendar Explained - National Geographic
Vicente Canche Moo's Website
Ko’one’ex kanik maaya - the project in the region teaching Yucatec Maya in schools.
Xiimbal Kaaj - my favourite Pat Boy song featuring Yazmín Novelo, who also volunteers with Radio Yuuyum.
ADN MAYA - Pat Boy's record label YouTube channel.
Vice/Noisey - an interview with Pat Boy (in Spanish)
Radio Yuuyum - check their official website to see everything going on!
Global Voices - an article about Radio Yuuyum.
24 min
December 15, 2017MINI: Star Wars: A Language Story
It's another Mini Episode! This time we’re in Tikal, Guatemala, aka Rebel Base Yavin 4, and we’re talking all things...Star Wars. In particular the languages of Star Wars.
The Video
Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.
To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.
Support The Show
The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!
Subscribe - by subscribing to the Language Stories podcast in your favourite place and YouTube for the sister videos, you're going to keep up with all future episodes. Woop!
Review - when it comes to the tech stuff, reviews are pretty important. Reviews help to tell iTunes that people like the podcast, and that helps to raise the profile so that new people can find it easily. Yay!
Tell a friend - word of mouth still wins! If you know someone who would love Language Stories, tell them about it. And if they're new to podcasts, walk them through the process to subscribe them. Woohoo!
To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.
Share Your Story
If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.
I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.
Links:
Languages in Star Wars Wikipedia page
Object Subject Verb Wikipedia page
Star Wars: Linguists Explain The Way Yoda Speaks
Yoda in Different Languages Reddit thread
Yoda Translator
Star Wars accused of race stereotypes - The Independent
Jar Jar Binks: A Cultural Rorschach Test - Chicago Tribune
8 min
December 01, 2017Montreal: Beyond Bilingual
We're making our way up North America. This time we visit Montreal, a city that goes beyond the French and English bilingual expectations you might have. This is episode 3 of Language Stories - Montreal: Beyond Bilingual.
The Video
Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.
To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.
Support The Show
The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!
Subscribe - by subscribing to the Language Stories podcast in your favourite place and YouTube for the sister videos, you're going to keep up with all future episodes. Woop!
Review - when it comes to the tech stuff, reviews are pretty important. Reviews help to tell iTunes that people like the podcast, and that helps to raise the profile so that new people can find it easily. Yay!
Tell a friend - word of mouth still wins! If you know someone who would love Language Stories, tell them about it. And if they're new to podcasts, walk them through the process to subscribe them. Woohoo!
To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.
Share Your Story
If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.
I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.
Special Guest: Tetsu Yung & Joey Perugino - LangFest.
Links:
Bernard Spolsky - The Language of the Jews
Montréalers Need To Stop Greeting People With 'Bonjour. Hi.' - Huffington Post
How Bilingual Is Montreal? The Truth is Shocking - MtlBlog
Maps tell story of Montreal's changing linguistic landscape - CBA News
27 min
November 17, 2017MINI: Chinatown in Havana
Havana, Cuba has a Chinatown. Nothing too unusual about that, right? Well what happens when that Chinatown doesn't really have a Chinese population? This is episode two of Language Stories.
The Video
Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.
To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.
Support The Show
The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!
Subscribe - by subscribing to the Language Stories podcast in your favourite place and YouTube for the sister videos, you're going to keep up with all future episodes. Woop!
Review - when it comes to the tech stuff, reviews are pretty important. Reviews help to tell iTunes that people like the podcast, and that helps to raise the profile so that new people can find it easily. Yay!
Tell a friend - word of mouth still wins! If you know someone who would love Language Stories, tell them about it. And if they're new to podcasts, walk them through the process to subscribe them. Woohoo!
To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.
Share Your Story
If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.
I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.
Links:
Chinese Cubans - Wikipedia
El Barrio Chino - Spanish Wikipedia
In Cuba, A Chinatown With No Chinese - The Diplomat
7 min
November 10, 2017New York and the 7 Line
Language Stories is finally here! Woohoo! And what better place to start for episode one than New York City.
New York City is undoubtedly one of the most multicultural in the world. So what's it like to live there as someone interested in languages? In this episode we meet with 5 local New Yorkers to hear about their experiences living and learning languages in such a diverse city and to learn about the projects that have developed from living in this inspiring place.
The Video
Click here to watch the sister video to this podcast episode.
To keep track of future episodes in video form, click here to subscribe on YouTube.
Support The Show
The best thing you can do right now to support the project is threefold, and if you've ever listened to any podcast before, I'm sure you'll be familiar with what I'm about to say!
Subscribe - by subscribing to the Language Stories podcast in your favourite place and YouTube for the sister videos, you're going to keep up with all future episodes. Woop!
Review - when it comes to the tech stuff, reviews are pretty important. Reviews help to tell iTunes that people like the podcast, and that helps to raise the profile so that new people can find it easily. Yay!
Tell a friend - word of mouth still wins! If you know someone who would love Language Stories, tell them about it. And if they're new to podcasts, walk them through the process to subscribe them. Woohoo!
To make it as easy as possible to share the podcast, click here to tweet about episode.
Share Your Story
If you have a Language Story you’d love to share, or if you know someone that does, get in touch.
I always love to hear from you! Your feedback helps to shape future episodes so thank you.
Special Guests: Benny Lewis - Fluent in 3 Months, Daniel Bogre Udell & Freddie Andrade - Wikitongues, and Ross Perlin - Endangered Language Alliance.
Links:
A short article from the New York Times about the work of the Endangered Language Alliance.
A longer piece from the New York Times about languages in New York.
An article from the BBC in 2012 about langauges in New York.
Language Map of Queens produced by the Endangered Language Alliance.
Facts about the NYC population from the official local government website.
An article from The Daily Telegraph about the Number 7 Line.
Census stats for New York City and languages.
24 min
October 31, 2017 Episode 0: Preview: Language Stories coming November 10th!
A little preview of what to expect on November 10th 2017 when the first episode of Language Stories launches!
What is Language Stories?
Language Stories is a new series here at Lindsay Does Languages of video and podcast episodes about languages in various places around the world.
We’re currently spending a year travelling and working (online) and wanted to produce something lasting and inspiring both for language lovers and curious travellers alike. We’re creating Language Stories as we travel, discovering languages + meeting people in the places we go and sharing their stories.
Language Stories is designed to be accessible. Something you can share with your family and friends that both do and don’t necessarily love languages as much as you do.
It’s designed to inspire. To keep or start people learning languages solo and maybe even to travel to explore further for yourself.
And finally, it’s designed to last. We want Language Stories to be something that you can revisit multiple times both now and in the future to enjoy as and when you fancy.
What makes Language Stories different is that it's a multi-format project. There’s videos and podcast episodes primarily, that draw from the same sources but are produced by different people so tell things from slightly different perspectives. (The videos are edited by Ashley, my husband, and the podcasts are edited by me, Lindsay).
From time to time there’ll also be additional blog content that accompanies the core videos and podcasts, and maybe even other formats as time goes on.
We have some ideas and places in mind for future episodes, largely based on our travel plans for the year. However, we are flexible and if you have a language story to share, or you know someone who does, get in touch and if our plans align with where you are in the world, we’d love to get chatting about featuring your language story.
2 min