Lexis

Lexis

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Lexis episodes

  • Philip Seargeant - E7

    Show notes for Episode 7

    Here are the show notes for Episode 7 where Jacky, Dan, Lisa and Matthew talk about:

    • ‘Irregardless’ and why this word causes prescriptivists such angst.
    • The Daily Mail going overboard on ‘man overboard’ and why challenging sexist language gets such a bad press.

      • And we talk to Dr Philip Seargeant of the Open University about emoji and political storytelling.

      Philip Seargeant’s university page: http://www.open.ac.uk/people/ps4549

      Philip Seargeant’s website: Philip Seargeant

      Twitter: https://twitter.com/philipseargeant

      Philip Seargeant on emoji: https://www.digitaltrends.com/features/emoji-digital-language-of-emotion-phillip-seargeant/

      Philip Seargeant on political storytelling: https://www.ft.com/content/d0d0f4ec-a4d2-11ea-92e2-cbd9b7e28ee6 (paywalled)

      The Special Adviser's Tale, or Political Storytelling in the Time of Covid

      Irregardless

      https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jul/06/is-irregardless-a-real-word-dictionary

      Peter Sokolowski of Merriam Webster Dictionaries discusses ‘irregardless’ in a Twitter thread: https://twitter.com/PeterSokolowski/status/1280585356908388352

      ‘Man overboard’

      Sailors told to stop using Navy terms like 'unmanned' and 'man power'

      Royal Navy bans terms 'unmanned' and 'manpower' because it's 'sexist'

      Contact us @LexisPodcast.  Subscribe: Lexis Podcast | Podcast on Spotify

      Contributors

      Matthew Butler

      Twitter: https://twitter.com/Matthewbutlerwy

      Lisa Casey

      blog: https://livingthroughlanguage.wordpress.com/ & Twitter: Language Debates (@LanguageDebates)

      Dan Clayton

      blog: EngLangBlog & Twitter: EngLangBlog (@EngLangBlog)

      Jacky Glancey

      Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackyGlancey

      Music: Freenotes

      49 min
    • Kelly Wright - E6
      Show notes for Episode 6
      Here are the show notes for Episode 6 where Jacky, Dan, Lisa and Matthew talk about:
      language change related to the term ‘Karen’ and how its meaning has drifted and been debated
      the changing of the name of Washington’s American Football team
      And we talk to Kelly Wright in a wide-ranging interview about her work in experimental sociolinguistics, how race and ethnicity are represented in language, blackness and whiteness in voices and lots more...
      Kelly Wright’s website: Covert Racism | Wright Linguistics
      Publications and interviews: https://kellywright5.wixsite.com/raciolinguistics/recent-publications
      John Rickford on Rachel Jeantel’s testimony at the George Zimmerman trial: Stanford linguist: prejudice toward African American dialect can result in unfair rulings
      A link to a presentation on housing discrimination: https://youtu.be/2YiSTziPt5o
      Kelly Wright on Twitter: https://twitter.com/raciolinguistic
      Groundbreaking report reveals racial bias in English football commentary
      The RunRepeat study: Racial Bias in Football Commentary (Study)
      Karen
      How 'Karen' went from a popular baby name to a stand-in for white entitlement
      What is and where did it come from? This from the Indy: What is the Karen meme and is it a misogynistic slur? | indy100
      Hadley freeman in the Guardian on Karen being sexist: The 'Karen' meme is everywhere – and it has become mired in sexism
      Karen Attiah in the Washington Post about why it's not oppressive: Opinion | The ‘Karen’ memes and jokes aren’t sexist or racist. Let a Karen explain.
      A bit of a more nuanced suggestion that it allows white women to uphold white supremacy: I am no longer Outside in a AMG on Twitter
      Changing the Washington NFL team name
      (We’ve chosen not to use the team name here but you’ll find it referred to in some of these articles.)
      An NFL Name Change That Has Been a Long Time Coming
      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53390944
      https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/07/18/renaming-the-washington-redskins
      Contact us @LexisPodcast. Subscribe: Lexis Podcast | Podcast on Spotify
      Contributors
      Matthew Butler
      Twitter: https://twitter.com/Matthewbutlerwy
      Lisa Casey
      blog: https://livingthroughlanguage.wordpress.com/ & Twitter: Language Debates (@LanguageDebates)
      Dan Clayton
      blog: EngLangBlog & Twitter: EngLangBlog (@EngLangBlog)
      Jacky Glancey
      Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackyGlancey
      Music: Freenotes
      46 min
    • Ian Cushing - E5
      Show notes for Episode 5
      Here are the show notes for Episode 5 where Jacky, Dan, Lisa and Matthew talk about language change and some of the arguments around banning and censoring language
      - the word game, Scrabble ‘banning’ racial slurs
      - slaves and masters, master bedrooms and nitty gritty: words that are being challenged and reviewed
      - political correctness, cancel culture and wokeness
      And we talk to Dr Ian Cushing about language in schools, the policing of language and the role, politics and importance of Standard English in education. 
      You can find the links to the stories and research we’ve mentioned in this programme, below.
      Ian Cushing’s work on language in schools:
      Teachers' slang bans 'likely to cause long-term damage'
      Should schools be allowed to ban slang words like 'peng'?
      The Policy and Policing of Language in Schools: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-in-society/article/policy-and-policing-of-language-in-schools/6C4BC80399E27747D34819060E186A62#fndtn-information
      Comment on Ian’s article: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-in-society/article/comment-on-the-policy-and-policing-of-language-in-schools-by-ian-cushing/780222C30D0C8C011B8ACEB0FD8EC964
      Ian’s response:
      https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-in-society/article/power-policing-and-language-policy-mechanisms-in-schools-a-response-to-hudson/ACEE15C4A9A3BDC555B1DFCCF0446E5C
      Ian Cushing on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ian_cushing
      Language in the News
      Scrabble ‘bans’ slurs: US Scrabble bans racist and LGBTQ slurs from tournaments
      Scrabble community mulls banning racial and homophobic slurs
      Slaves and masters: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53050955
      Master bedroom ‘banned’: Estate agents banned from saying 'master bedroom' due to concerns over slavery and sexism links
      Nitty gritty - is it a racist term?
      'Nitty gritty' on Sky Sports' banned list of words due to supposed links to slavery
      Where does the phrase nitty gritty come from - and why has Sky Sports banned it?
      It's not just the n-word in the woodpile - from 'no can do' to 'hooligan' we reveal English's hidden racism
      Police forbid politically incorrect phrases | UK news
      Contact us @LexisPodcast.  Subscribe: Lexis Podcast | Podcast on Spotify
      Contributors
      Matthew Butler 
      Twitter: https://twitter.com/Matthewbutlerwy
      Lisa Casey 
      blog: https://livingthroughlanguage.wordpress.com/ & Twitter: Language Debates (@LanguageDebates)
      Dan Clayton 
      blog: EngLangBlog & Twitter: EngLangBlog (@EngLangBlog)
      Jacky Glancey 
      Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackyGlancey
      Music: Freenotes
      52 min
    • Shivonne Gates - E4

      Here are the show notes for Episode 4 where Jacky, Dan, Lisa and Matthew talk about

      - sacking headlines: who’s been sacked and who’s doing the sacking?

      - TikTok teens and K-Pop stans trolling Trump

      - and talk to Dr Shivonne Gates about Multicultural London English and how language is used by teenagers to express their social identities.

      You can find the links to the stories and research we’ve mentioned in this programme, below.

      Some of Shivonne Gates’ work mentioned in the interview:

      Voices and Practices in Applied Linguistics: Diversifying a Discipline

      Why the Long FACE?: Ethnic Stratification and Variation in the London Diphthong System

      Shivonne’s book recommendation: https://wordery.com/homegirls-norma-mendoza-denton-9780631234906

      Headlines:

      The Guardian

      Rebecca Long-Bailey sacked from Labour shadow cabinet by Keir Starmer – UK politics live

      Daily Mail

      Starmer reignites Labour civil war

      Story of Trump’s Tulsa Rally being trolled by Tiktok users:

      https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/style/tiktok-trump-rally-tulsa.html

      Contact us @LexisPodcast.  Subscribe: Lexis Podcast | Podcast on Spotify

      Contributors

      Matthew Butler

      Twitter: https://twitter.com/Matthewbutlerwy

      Lisa Casey

      blog: https://livingthroughlanguage.wordpress.com/ & Twitter: Language Debates (@LanguageDebates)

      Dan Clayton

      blog: EngLangBlog & Twitter: EngLangBlog (@EngLangBlog)

      Jacky Glancey

      Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackyGlancey

      Music: Freenotes

      33 min
    • Devyani Sharma - E3

      Show notes for Episode 3

      Here are the show notes for Episode 3, where Jacky, Dan, Lisa and Matthew talk about

      - the language of subtitles: turning non-standard into Standard English?

      - the changing meanings and interpretations of gestures: taking a knee and what it might mean

      - and talk to Professor Devyani Sharma of QMUL about accents, identity and how to deal with accent bias… among other things!

      You can find the links to the stories and research we’ve mentioned in this programme, below.

      Accent Bias in Britain project (QMUL)

      website: https://accentbiasbritain.org/

      Twitter: https://twitter.com/accentbias

      Teach Real English! (QMUL)

      http://www.teachrealenglish.org/

      Devyani Sharma’s staff page: Devyani Sharma - School of Languages, Linguistics and Film

      A Level English numbers up for first time in 7 years:

      Provisional Entries for GCSE, AS and A level: Summer 2020 exam series

      Professor Dick Hudson’s site has mapped the trends in A Level English over the years:

      https://dickhudson.com/trends-english/

      Marcus Rashford interview with the BBC: Marcus Rashford talks food poverty, his childhood and campaigning for free school meals

      A Twitter thread on the potential ‘linguicism’ of ‘correcting’ subtitles: https://twitter.com/DrVanjaK/status/1272603255932170245

      BBC subtitling guidelines: https://bbc.github.io/subtitle-guidelines/

      Dominic Raab on ‘taking a knee’: Dominic Raab's obliviousness to taking a knee feels eerily like a government ploy to enrage black people

      Changing meaning of OK gesture

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48293817

      Trolling, hoax or attempt to disguise hate symbol?

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48293817

      Contact us @LexisPodcast.  Subscribe: Lexis Podcast | Podcast on Spotify

      Contributors

      Matthew Butler

      Twitter: https://twitter.com/Matthewbutlerwy

      Lisa Casey

      blog: https://livingthroughlanguage.wordpress.com/ & Twitter: Language Debates (@LanguageDebates)

      Dan Clayton

      blog: EngLangBlog & Twitter: EngLangBlog (@EngLangBlog)

      Jacky Glancey

      Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackyGlancey

      Music: Freenotes

      36 min
    • Rob Drummond - E2

      Here are the show notes for Episode 2, where Jacky, Dan, Lisa and Matthew talk about

      - the language used to report political protests, demonstrations and movements around the Black Lives Matter campaign

      - the language of the placards on the recent BLM London demonstration

      - and talk to Dr Rob Drummond from Manchester Metropolitan University about youth language, accents and how linguists can educate the public about language issues.

      You can find the links to the stories and research we’ve mentioned in this programme, below.

      Rob Drummond

      Website: http://www.robdrummond.co.uk/

      Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobDrummond

      Accentism project: http://accentism.org/

      Manchester Voices: https://www.manchestervoices.org/

      Lisa’s blog on the BLM placards: https://livingthroughlanguage.wordpress.com/2020/06/15/the-language-of-protest-signs-blm/

      Ben Zimmer on riots, rebellions and uprisings: https://time.com/5849163/why-describing-george-floyd-protests-as-riots-is-loaded/

      Language in Conflict blog: http://languageinconflict.org

      Newspaper headlines:

      The Mail on Sunday: https://www.thepaperboy.com/uk/the-mail-on-sunday/front-pages-today.cfm?frontpage=60256

      https://www.thepaperboy.com/uk/the-mail-on-sunday/front-pages-today.cfm?frontpage=60315

      The Guardian:

      https://time.com/5849163/why-describing-george-floyd-protests-as-riots-is-loaded/

      The Observer:

      https://www.thepaperboy.com/uk/the-observer/front-pages-today.cfm?frontpage=60316

      Some others you might find interesting: https://twitter.com/BoswellsMediaSt/status/1270013908225527809

      Contact us @LexisPodcast.  Subscribe: Lexis Podcast | Podcast on Spotify

      Contributors

      Matthew Butler

      Twitter: https://twitter.com/Matthewbutlerwy

      Lisa Casey

      blog: https://livingthroughlanguage.wordpress.com/ & Twitter: Language Debates (@LanguageDebates)

      Dan Clayton

      blog: EngLangBlog & Twitter: EngLangBlog (@EngLangBlog)

      Jacky Glancey

      Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackyGlancey

      Music: Freenotes

      49 min
    • Language in the News - E1
      Lexis Podcast
      Show notes for episode 1
      Here are the show notes for Episode 1, where Jacky, Dan, Lisa and Matthew talk about
      - trending hashtags in the Dominic Cummings scandal
      - track and trace employees ‘sounding professional’
      - the introduction of a Northern accent for the Beeb
      - and English with Lucy
      You can find the links to the stories and research we’ve mentioned in this programme, below.
      Dominic Cummings and Twitter #s. Here’s the blog post Lisa did on it: livingthroughlanguage.wordpress.com/2020/05/26/twitter-lesson-cummgate/Omnishambles names Word of the Year 2009 by Oxford English Dictionary: Omnishambles named word of the year by Oxford English Dictionary
      Some examples of the -gate suffix in this post: Hit Me Up with some culturomics: new words for 2010
      Michele Zappavigna on ‘ambient affiliation’: Ambient affiliation: A linguistic perspective on Twitter - Michele Zappavigna, 2011
      Computer security blogger, Graham Cluley on the threat of track and trace scammers: Apparently Coronavirus-tracing scammers won't sound professional... (Yeah, right!)
      Dr Claire Hardaker on ‘sounding professional’: Dr Claire Hardaker (she/her) on Twitter: "here's the bit from yesterday's #DowningStreetBriefing where deputy CMO Jenny Harries fields a question about how people would know that a call from the Track & Trace service was legitimate and not a scammer her answer essentially boils down to "they'll sound professional" 1/8… https://t.co/Mvp3r9D5KP"
      Geoff Pullum (back in 2004) talking about the language of scam emails and 419s: Forensic syntax for spam detection & Inexpert and expert phishing spam
      Accent Bias in Britain: an overview of the findings Results: overview
      The Twitter threads on ‘English With Lucy’ and British accents: https://twitter.com/RobDrummond/status/1267040918349193217 and https://twitter.com/RobDrummond/status/1267511340291284992
      ‘Hey Beeb’ and BBC accents: 'Hey Beeb': new BBC digital assistant gets northern male accent
      Alex Baratta on accents and trainee teachers: Research exposes prejudice over teachers with northern accents
      BBC ‘On This Day’ BBC Archive on Twitter: "#OnThisDay 1943: Should a woman or even a Yorkshireman be allowed to read the BBC news? Of course not. John Snagge explained why.… https://t.co/DvCtL7sbNW"
      Contact us @LexisPodcast. Subscribe: Lexis Podcast | Podcast on Spotify
      Contributors
      Matthew Butler
      Twitter: https://twitter.com/Matthewbutlerwy
      Lisa Casey
      blog: https://livingthroughlanguage.wordpress.com/ & Twitter: Language Debates (@LanguageDebates)
      Dan Clayton
      blog: EngLangBlog & Twitter: EngLangBlog (@EngLangBlog)
      Jacky Glancey
      Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackyGlancey
      Music: Freenotes
      27 min

    About Lexis

    From the publisher's feed

    A podcast about language and linguistics for A Level English Language students, teachers and anyone else who's interested in language.