Speaking Tongues Podcast: Celebrating Voices, Stories, and Flavors From Around the Globe

Hello Language Lovers! Thank you for joining me for this episode of Speaking Tongues, the podcast in conversation with multilinguals. This week, I’m joined by Emily of Language Travel Adoptee to talk about her language story and her journey of connecting to Mandarin Chinese

In this episode Emily talks to us about: 

💫 Her adoption story and her journey to deciding that she was ready to share it with the world

💫 A reluctance she faced in connecting to her past and to the Chinese language

💫 Healing and feeling her way through feelings of grief, shame and loss, turning it into into her power, her voice and her platform

💫 Being authentic and helping other language learners navigate mental health

💫 Taking initial steps in learning Mandarin and what she’s excited to learn on this journey. 

Big thank you to Emily for sharing your story, for being vulnerable and for all the work you do around identity, confidence, and mental health. If you enjoy this episode of Speaking Tongues, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts and like and subscribe on YouTube so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now pledge ongoing support for the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com or on Patreon dot com. Special shout out to Speaking Tongues’ recent supporters and Patrons Heidi L., Pat N. and John L.  And as you know, I wrote a book! My food ‘zine of international language and cuisine, Taste Buds Vol 1. is available now for purchase! Check social media for the sneak peek inside of the book and make sure you purchase for yourself and your friends! Links to all platforms are below!

To Find Emily:

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/languagetraveladoptee

IG: https://www.instagram.com/languagetraveladoptee/

To Find Speaking Tongues 

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

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Like our Facebook Page: @speakingtonguespod

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFOPq3j7wGteY-PjcZaMxg

Did you enjoy this episode? Support Speaking Tongues on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/speakingtongues

Pledge on-going monthly support. Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/speakingtonguespodcast

Buy my book here https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/elle-charisse/taste-buds-vol-1/paperback/product-wn2n46.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Hello Language Lovers. Thank you for joining me for this episode of Speaking Tongues. This week, I’m thrilled to bring you this conversation with Belizean linguist, Silvanna Udz. 

Silvaana Maree Udz, Ed.D., is a founding member of di National Kriol Council of Belize. In addition to ongoing Belize Kriol language outputs, she also spent seven years as an assistant professor teaching English in Taiwan, at Ming Cuan University,  researching di embryonic standardization of East Asian Englishes. Before that she worked at the University of Belize and at its pre-amalgamated colleges, teaching either full time or part time since 1981: Currently, she is an adjunct assistant professor at Galen University in Belize. Her current focus with Belize Kriol and the National Kriol Council of Belize is working with a team on updating the current Belize Kriol-English dictionary.

In this episode, we discuss: 

🇧🇿 The structure of Belize Kriol and some of it’s developmental origins

🇧🇿 How she has worked with the team to document the changing language through usage

🇧🇿 Standardizing spelling and learning the orthography rules

🇧🇿 How education and getting kids involved in learning the Kriol early in school has proven successful

🇧🇿 What we’re eating, drinking and doing while we’re spending time in Belize

To Learn More: 

National Kriol Council https://nationalkriolcouncil.org/the_council

Kriol – Inglish Dikshineri

https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/91/95/49/91954925699176285931841170600318709537/BelizeKriol_EngDic_49337_2009.pdf

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

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Did you enjoy this episode? Support Speaking Tongues on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/speakingtongues

Pledge on-going monthly support. Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/speakingtonguespodcast

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Hello Language Lovers! Thank you for joining me for this episode of Speaking Tongues, the podcast in conversation with multi linguals. This week, we’re talking with Eukene about her language of Basque. Eukene is a Ph.D. candidate in Linguistic Studies at the University of Miami. She is an advocate of minority languages and cultures. Her work focuses on the language variation in young Basque speakers and ethnolinguistic identities and attitudes towards Basque, both in the Basque Country and the Basque diaspora of Idaho.

In this episode we discuss:

- The perceptions of Basque being a “difficult” language and why that’s not true

- Efforts that have been made over decades to ensure that children are learning the language

- Trauma that exists within minoritized languages

- The standard variety of Basque and the local languages spoken in Pais Vasco 

- Conducting research among the Basque community in Idaho

Big eskerrik asko to Eukene for sharing your language, your research and culture with all of us. If you enjoy this episode of Speaking Tongues, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts and like and subscribe on YouTube so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now pledge ongoing support for the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com or on Patreon dot com. Special shout out to Speaking Tongues’ recent supporters and Patrons Heidi L., Pat N. and John L.  And as you know, I wrote a book! My food ‘zine of international language and cuisine, Taste Buds Vol 1. is available now for purchase! Check social media for the sneak peek inside of the book and make sure you purchase for yourself and your friends! Links to all platforms are below! 

To Find Eukene:

Instagram & Threads: @minoritylanguaging2

Twitter: @EukeneFL

To Find Speaking Tongues 

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

Follow on Twitter: @stpodcasthost

Like our Facebook Page: @speakingtonguespod

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFOPq3j7wGteY-PjcZaMxg

Did you enjoy this episode? Support Speaking Tongues on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/speakingtongues

Pledge on-going monthly support. Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/speakingtonguespodcast

Buy my book here https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/elle-charisse/taste-buds-vol-1/paperback/product-wn2n46.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Hello Language Lovers! Thank you for joining me for this episode of Speaking Tongues, the podcast in conversation with multilinguals. In this episode, we’re talking to Meriem about her Algerian language and culture, as well as architecture and design. Meriem is an Algerian-born, Doha-raised designer currently based in the US, coalescing cultural experiences into multidisciplinary design exploration and fabrication. 

In this episode, we discuss

🇩🇿The distinctions of spoken Arabic spoken in Algeria among other Arabics spoken in North Africa

🇩🇿 Contrasts between Algerian and Gulf spoken Arabic

🇩🇿 How the French colonization of Algeria has affected generations of speakers and educators

🇩🇿 The way Amazigh culture and language and design are such a part of contemporary Algerian life

🇩🇿 What to expect at an Algerian wedding and an Algerian birth

🇩🇿 Rai music that we all know and love! 

Big thank you to Meriam for sharing your culture, your heritage and your design sensibilities with all of us. If you enjoy this episode of Speaking Tongues, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts and like and subscribe on YouTube so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now pledge ongoing support for the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com or on Patreon dot com. Special shout out to Speaking Tongues’ recent supporters and Patrons Heidi L., Pat N. and John L.  And as you know, I wrote a book! My food ‘zine of international language and cuisine, Taste Buds Vol 1. is available now for purchase! Check social media for the sneak peek inside of the book and make sure you purchase for yourself and your friends! Links to all platforms are below! 

To find Meriem

@meriem.aiouna

To Find Speaking Tongues 

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

Follow on Twitter: @stpodcasthost

Like our Facebook Page: @speakingtonguespod

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFOPq3j7wGteY-PjcZaMxg

Did you enjoy this episode? Support Speaking Tongues on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/speakingtongues

Pledge on-going monthly support. Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/speakingtonguespodcast

Buy my book here https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/elle-charisse/taste-buds-vol-1/paperback/product-wn2n46.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Hello Language Lovers! Thanks for tuning in to this new episode. This week we’re speaking with Aiyana (IG@ktunaxapride) about her language of Ktunaxa. Aiyana Twigg is Indigenous, belonging to two nations in Canada, the Ktunaxa Nation and Blackfoot. She grew up within the Ktunaxa Nation in Tobacco Plains and graduated from University with a passion to revitalize her Indigenous language Ktunaxa. 

In this episode we talk about

Growing up in the community and her journey to wanting to learn more about the Ktunaxa language

The efforts being taken to revitalize Ktunaxa and what those responsibilities are like, including developing dictionaries and apps with audio (yes!!)

The wisdom ritual and traditions being passed down and recorded by elders in the community

Advice for how we can support indigenous language and community. 

And we even get to learn some Ktunaxa words and phrases along the way. 

Big thank you to Aiyana for sharing your heritage, your language and your community and all of your hard work you do with the Ktunaxa Nation with all of us. If you enjoy this episode of Speaking Tongues, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts and like and subscribe on YouTube so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now pledge ongoing support for the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com or on Patreon dot com. Special shout out to Speaking Tongues’ recent supporters and Patrons Heidi L., Pat N. and John L.  And as you know, I wrote a book! My food ‘zine of international language and cuisine, Taste Buds Vol 1. is available now for purchase! Check social media for the sneak peek inside of the book and make sure you purchase for yourself and your friends! Links to all platforms are below! 

To Find Aiyana

IG @ktunaxapride 

Linktree:

First Voices 

https://www.firstvoices.com/

To Find Speaking Tongues:

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

Follow on Twitter: @stpodcasthost

Like our Facebook Page: @speakingtonguespod

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFOPq3j7wGteY-PjcZaMxg

Did you enjoy this episode? Support Speaking Tongues on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/speakingtongues

Pledge on-going monthly support. Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/speakingtonguespodcast

Buy my book here https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/elle-charisse/taste-buds-vol-1/paperback/product-wn2n46.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Hello Language Lovers! This is episode 138 and I’m thrilled to bring you this conversation with Taylor @centralpolyglot about Catalan language and culture in Andorra.  Taylor is a Fulbright scholar currently living in the European microstate of Andorra and in this episode, we talk about: 

🇦🇩 Her path to the Fulbright program that led her to living in Andorra from her upbringing in Missouri

🇦🇩 Variations of Catalan spoken around the country

🇦🇩 Andorran pride in being the only country with Catalan as an official language

🇦🇩 Some of the most popular pastimes and activities that people partake in

🇦🇩 Celebrations and festivals around the country

🇦🇩 Andorra’s pastoral history and how that shows up in modern life

Big thank you to Taylor for sharing your scholarship and language and your adventures with us all!   If you enjoy this episode of Speaking Tongues, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts and like and subscribe on YouTube so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now pledge ongoing support for the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com or on Patreon dot com. Special shout out to Speaking Tongues’ recent supporters and Patrons Heidi L., Pat N. and John L.  And as you know, I wrote a book! My food ‘zine of international language and cuisine, Taste Buds Vol 1. is available now for purchase! Check social media for the sneak peek inside of the book and make sure you purchase for yourself and your friends! Links to all platforms are below! 

“Speaking Tongues  is not an official site of the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of Speaking Tongues and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State, or any of its partner organizations.”

To Find Taylor:

IG @centralpolyglot

To Find Speaking Tongues:

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

Follow on Twitter: @stpodcasthost

Like our Facebook Page: @speakingtonguespod

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFOPq3j7wGteY-PjcZaMxg

Did you enjoy this episode? Support Speaking Tongues on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/speakingtongues

Pledge on-going monthly support. Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/speakingtonguespodcast

Buy my book here https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/elle-charisse/taste-buds-vol-1/paperback/product-wn2n46.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Hello Language Lovers! Today we are chatting all things Brazilian Portuguese and Brazilian music with our favorite samba dancer, DJ and musician Leticia @areyoubrazilian  Leticia, like me, is a self-proclaimed Brazilophile and having this chance to collectively geek out over Brazilian dance, culture, and samba music new and old was truly a blast!

In this episode we talk about 

🇧🇷 How Leticia initially became drawn to Brazilian Portuguese 

🇧🇷 Learning Portuguese in Brazil during a fully immersive experience

🇧🇷 The connections between dance, music and language - and the joy it brings!

🇧🇷 Different subgenres of samba music - and some of her faves 

🇧🇷 The different types of instruments we’ll hear and see when we listen to Brazilian music

🇧🇷 🗽And of course, keeping up with the Brazilian music and dance scene in NYC 

Big thank you to Leticia for sharing your language, your adventures, and your musicality with us all! If you enjoy this episode of Speaking Tongues, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts and like and subscribe on YouTube so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now pledge ongoing support for the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com or on Patreon dot com. Special shout out to Speaking Tongues’ recent supporters and Patrons Heidi L., Pat N. and John L.  And as you know, I wrote a book! My food ‘zine of international language and cuisine, Taste Buds Vol 1. is available now for purchase! Check social media for the sneak peek inside of the book and make sure you purchase for yourself and your friends! Links to all platforms are below! 

To Find Leticia: 

Areyoubrazilian.com 

https://www.instagram.com/djletylove/

https://www.instagram.com/areyoubrazilian/

To Find Speaking Tongues:

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

Follow on Twitter: @stpodcasthost

Like our Facebook Page: @speakingtonguespod

Subscribe on YouTube:

Did you enjoy this episode? Support Speaking Tongues on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/speakingtongues

Pledge on-going monthly support. Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/speakingtonguespodcast

Buy my book here

Hello Language Lovers! Today we are speaking with Maggie, a content creator based in Toronto about her languages of Haitian Creole and Jamaican Patois

Maggie is a perfect person to have this conversation with as she is so well versed on creole languages spoken not just in the Caribbean but all over the world. In this episode we talk about

How Jamaican stands out in the Caribbean through culture and language

The way language is spoken differently in different parts of Jamaica

Growing up in a Haitian Creole speaking household and experiencing different languages spoken daily

French based creoles around the world and what they have in common

Caribbean culture and its influence in Toronto

Big thank you to Maggie for sharing your language, your culture and your adventures with us all! If you enjoy this episode of Speaking Tongues, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts and like and subscribe on YouTube so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now pledge ongoing support for the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com or on Patreon dot com. Special shout out to Speaking Tongues’ recent supporters and Patrons Heidi L., Pat N. and John L.  And as you know, I wrote a book! My food ‘zine of international language and cuisine, Taste Buds Vol 1. is available now for purchase! Check social media for the sneak peek inside of the book and make sure you purchase for yourself and your friends! Links to all platforms are below! 

To Find Maggie:

Youtube- https://www.youtube.com/c/CharisMaggieTV

Instagram-https://www.instagram.com/charismaggietv/

Website-https://www.charismaggietv.com/

Speaking Tongues Podcast:

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

Follow on Twitter: @stpodcasthost

Like our Facebook Page: @speakingtonguespod

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFOPq3j7wGteY-PjcZaMxg

Did you enjoy this episode? Support Speaking Tongues on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/speakingtongues

Pledge on-going monthly support. Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/speakingtonguespodcast

Buy my book here https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/elle-charisse/taste-buds-vol-1/paperback/product-wn2n46.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Hello Language Lovers! Today we’re talking about Spanish (spoken in Spain) & Italian with Jamal. 

In this episode, he talks to us about 

Big thank you to Jamal for sharing your language and your adventures with us all! If you enjoy this episode of Speaking Tongues, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts and like and subscribe on YouTube so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now pledge ongoing support for the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com or on Patreon dot com. Special shout out to Speaking Tongues’ recent supporters and Patrons Heidi L., Pat N. and John L. For just $5 per month, you will have access to excerpts of this conversation that did not make it to the full published episode.  And as you know, I wrote a book! My food ‘zine of international language and cuisine, Taste Buds Vol 1. is available now for purchase! Check social media for the sneak peek inside of the book and make sure you purchase for yourself and your friends! Links to all platforms are below! 

Speaking Tongues Podcast:

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

Follow on Twitter: @stpodcasthost

Like our Facebook Page: @speakingtonguespod

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFOPq3j7wGteY-PjcZaMxg

Did you enjoy this episode? Support Speaking Tongues on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/speakingtongues

Pledge on-going monthly support. Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/speakingtonguespodcast

Buy my book here https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/elle-charisse/taste-buds-vol-1/paperback/product-wn2n46.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Hello Language Lovers! Today, we’re talking about French - a language that many of you know I’m learning - with Julie, the founder of Towanda Language School. Julie is a language teacher and learner who loves to bust myths around language learning. She talks to us in this conversation about how language has helped her make connections as she’s traveled all over the world. 

In this episode some of the topics we discuss include

The French connection to the Arabic language

A few different ways that French is used around the francophone world

How learning a few words of Kinyarwanda led her to a once-in-a-lifetime experience

Some of the things French learners can do to take the pressure off of the learning process

Her list of French things she loves… and hates!

Big thank you to Julie for sharing your language and your adventures with us all! If you enjoy this episode of Speaking Tongues, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts and like and subscribe on YouTube so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now pledge ongoing support for the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com or on Patreon dot com. Special shout out to Speaking Tongues’ recent supporters and Patrons Heidi L., Linnea H. , Pat N. and Yari A. For just $5 per month, you will have access to excerpts of this conversation that did not make it to the full published episode.  And as you know, I wrote a book! My food ‘zine of international language and cuisine, Taste Buds Vol 1. is available now for purchase! Check social media for the sneak peek inside of the book and make sure you purchase for yourself and your friends! Links to all platforms are below! 

To find Julie:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/towandalanguageschool?igshid=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA==

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TowandaLanguageSchool?si=gIH7R67RbyPE0TEm

Speaking Tongues Podcast:

Follow on IG: @speakingtonguespod

Follow on Twitter: @stpodcasthost

Like our Facebook Page: @speakingtonguespod

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFOPq3j7wGteY-PjcZaMxg

Did you enjoy this episode? Support Speaking Tongues on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/speakingtongues

Pledge on-going monthly support. Join my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/speakingtonguespodcast

Buy my book here https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/elle-charisse/taste-buds-vol-1/paperback/product-wn2n46.html?page=1&pageSize=4