Slate Debates

By Slate PodcastsSociety & Culture News

Slate Debates episodes

December 22, 2020 Future English Speaker, Can You Read Me?
That language changes is certain. How quickly or slowly is another matter.
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1 hr 5 min
December 08, 2020 Getting Got
The story of how one little verb developed a seemingly endless capacity to absorb new meanings.
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44 min
November 24, 2020 On the Origin of English
A controversial theory holds that English, along with other Germanic languages, was profoundly influenced early on by Phoenician. The evidence is intriguing.
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1 hr 1 min
November 10, 2020 White Author, Black English. Problem?
Mark Twain famously depicted what he called the "Missouri Negro dialect" of Jim. Would that be acceptable today?
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56 min
October 27, 2020 Do Cats Have Language?
Animals bark, sing, purr and even gesture, all fascinating but a far cry from human communication.
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1 hr 2 min
October 13, 2020 Sergeant, Corporal, Colonel!
Peculiar linguistic tales of America's soldiers.
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40 min
September 29, 2020 To Reason Why
There's more than one way to ask why. How come? What for?
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39 min
September 15, 2020 When Talking to Your Mother-In-Law Is a Minefield
From baby talk to formal varieties, languages around the world offer—or even require—different ways of speaking for different situations.
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44 min
September 01, 2020 The Incredible Story of the Traveling Creole
Enslaved people developed a hybrid language that sailed from Africa to the Caribbean and—unbelievably—back again.
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1 hr 3 min
August 18, 2020 This Am a Minstrel Stereotype, Right?
A longstanding mystery of Black English may finally be solved.
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56 min

About Slate Debates

From the publisher's feed

A feed from the Slate podcast network featuring episodes with enlightening conversations, opposing views, and plenty of healthy disputes. You'll get a curated selection of episodes from programs like…