Linguistically Aware

Episodes

1. 16

   Linguistically Aware - Episode October 13, 2026

   Tri-Transitive Structures: A Mystery for Linguistic Theory Join us as Brooklyn sits down with Dr. Maria Cristina Cuervo, an Associate Professor of Spanish and Linguistics at the University of Toronto. Dr. Cuervo tells us about exciting research on something called “tri-transitive” structures and...

   Oct 8, 2026
2. 15

   Linguistically Aware - Episode September 8, 2026

   Can machines tell when we’re being sarcastic? In this episode, Brooklyn sits down with Andi — a high school student at Webber Academy — to talk about her year-long linguistics research project about automatically identifying sarcasm in speech. In this project, Andi teamed up with our faculty and...

   Sep 9, 2026
3. 14

   Linguistically Aware - Episode August 11, 2026

   Layers of Language: The Hidden Structure of Words and Sentences In this episode, Brooklyn sits down with the incredible Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Ritter — a syntactician from the University of Calgary. In this interview, Betsy tells us all about her career journey and why we think languages have a...

   Aug 6, 2026
4. 13

   Linguistically Aware - Episode July 14, 2026

   Discovering How Kids Learn to Talk: Inside the Developmental Psycholinguistics Lab Ever wonder how children develop language? Us too! Join us with Dr. Angeliki Athanasopoulou as we learn about the developmental psycholinguistics lab at the University of Calgary — what they study, why it matters,...

   Jul 9, 2026
5. 12

   Linguistically Aware - Episode June 9, 2026

   Language in Humans and Machines with Dr. Julie Sedivy What would it mean for machines to understand language the way humans do? In this episode, we dive deep into the fascinating intersection of linguistics, cognition, and artificial intelligence with psycholinguist, Dr. Julie Sedivy. We explore...

   Jun 5, 2026
6. 11

   Linguistically Aware - Episode May 12, 2026

   From linguistics to lesson plans: Insights in language curriculum development In this episode, Tanna Butlin shares her path from studying linguistics to working in curriculum development with the Tsuut’ina Nation. She discusses what curriculum development involves in practice, how linguistic...

   May 10, 2026
7. 10

   Linguistically Aware - Episode April 14, 2026

   When one word makes a difference: Designing experiments to explore grammar Guest host Jesse Weir speaks with Dr. Keir Moulton (University of Toronto) about his path in linguistics and how subtle sentence contrasts like “I love that…” versus “I love it that…” reveal deeper insights into how…

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   Apr 14, 2026
8. 9

   Linguistically Aware - Episode March 10, 2026

   What’s your mouth doing right now?: The scientific study of speech sounds Brooklyn sits down with Dr. Stephen Winters - the University of Calgary's phonetician who walks us through how speech sounds are made, why languages sound so different from one another, and how phonetics plays a role in...

   Mar 7, 2026
9. 8

   Linguistically Aware - Episode February 10, 2026

   Melody meets grammar: How sentence structure and prosody interact across different languages PhD student Jesse Weir talks with Dr. Anja Arnhold about the relationship between prosody and syntax, her path into linguistics, and how different languages shape the way structure and melody work together.

   Feb 6, 2026
10. 7

    Linguistically Aware - Episode January 13, 2026

    From Linguistics to Epidemiology (Part 2): Humanities in a Data-Driven World Continuing our conversation with Dr. Hracs, we explore how linguistics and epidemiology intersect, and how humanities scholars can move into data-driven fields like public health research.

    Jan 9, 2026
11. 6

    Linguistically Aware - Episode December 9, 2025

    From Linguistics to Epidemiology (Part 1): Patterns in Language and Health Dr. Lindsay Hracs shares her journey from linguistics to leading data science in the Kaplan epidemiology lab, highlighting surprising parallels between the two fields and the cutting-edge research shaping her lab at the...

    Dec 4, 2025
12. 5

    Linguistically Aware - Episode November 11, 2025

    The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism with James Geary In this episode, Brooklyn sits down with James Geary - author of "The World in a Phrase: A Brief History of the Aphorism" to chat about the newly released second edition of this book. James tells us what aphorisms are, how he...

    Nov 7, 2025
13. 4

    Linguistically Aware - Episode September 9, 2025

    More Than Words: Inferences Beyond Language with Dr. Lyn Tieu In this episode, guest host Jesse Weir sits down with Dr. Lyn Tieu (University of Toronto) to talk about how we make meaning from more than just words. From gestures to emojis, Dr. Tieu’s research explores the surprising ways people…

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    Sep 4, 2025
14. 3

    Linguistically Aware - Episode August 12, 2025

    The Secrets of Sarcasm: Exploring Voice Pitch and Perception Want to learn the secrets behind sarcasm? In this episode, Brooklyn talks about her ongoing research on the perception of sarcasm. Specifically, she talks about a study where she had speakers vary the pitch of their voice in a very...

    Aug 6, 2025
15. 2

    Linguistically Aware - Episode July 8, 2025

    From Bengali to English: The Sounds That Challenge Our Ears with Sazzad In this episode, Brooklyn sits down with Syed Sazzad Alam, a PhD student at the University of Calgary that studies phonetics - the study of speech sounds. In this interview, Sazzad talks about some of his research on how…

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    Jul 3, 2025
16. 1

    Linguistically Aware - Episode June 10, 2025

    Let’s Talk Time: Francisco Ongay on Language and the Expression of Time In this episode, Brooklyn sits down with Francisco Ongay, a current PhD student studying syntax at the University of Calgary. Francisco studies how we use language to express time, whether it be past versus present (e.g., “I...

    Jun 4, 2025
17. Linguistically Aware - Episode May 13, 2025

    The Gender Factor: How Bias Shapes Linguistics Research with Jesse Weir In this episode, Brooklyn sits down with Jesse Weir, a current PhD student studying syntax at the University of Calgary. Jesse shares some brand new research on how gender bias in linguistics experiments might actually change...

    May 9, 2025
18. Linguistically Aware - Episode April 8, 2025

    Decoding Ambiguity: Cheryl Iwanchuk on Inferences and Interdisciplinary Linguistics (Part 2) In these second part of our interview with Cheryl, Brooklyn asks her why she thinks she got the results she did in her recent study on how adults and children differ in their ability to infer the meaning…

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    Apr 2, 2025
19. Linguistically Aware - Episode March 11, 2025

    Little Minds, Big Inferences: Cheryl Iwanchuk on Children's Understanding of Ambiguity (Part 1) In this episode, Brooklyn sits down with Cheryl Iwanchuk, a current Master’s student in linguistics to talk about her research on how children acquire the ability to make inferences from ambiguous...

    Mar 6, 2025
20. Linguistically Aware - Episode February 11, 2025

    Linguistic Legends: Myths, Gender, and the Rise of AI with Dr. Jila Ghomeshi & Dr. Ivona Kucerova In this very special episode, we have a double feature - that means not one but TWO interviews with well-known linguists here in Canada. Our first guest is Dr. Jila Ghomeshi - a professor of...

    Feb 7, 2025
21. Linguistically Aware - Episode January 14, 2025

    Stress Test: Unpacking Perception and Production in Arabic with Summer Abdalla In this episode, Brooklyn sits down with Summer Abdalla - a recent graduate from the MA program in Linguistics. In this interview, Summer breaks down her research for her Master's thesis where she found that the way...

    Jan 10, 2025
22. Linguistically Aware - Episode December 10, 2024

    Pitch Perfect: The Art of Speech, Rap, and Rhyme with Charys Russel Join our new host, Brooklyn, as she sits down with Charys Russel - a current MA student in Linguistics at UofC. Charys uses both her expertise in linguistics and musical theory to tell us about how pitch is used in speech versus...

    Dec 6, 2024
23. Linguistically Aware - Episode February 15, 2022

    In this episode, Dusan talks about the Speech Language Therapy and its connection to the knowledge of Linguistics, more specifically Phonetics, a study that explores how speech sounds are produced and perceived.

    Apr 23, 2022
24. Linguistically Aware - Episode January 18, 2022

    In this episode, I talk to Stephen Winters, an expert on Phonetics - the subfield of Linguistics exploring the ways speech sounds are produced and perceived. We talk about voice qualities and certain stereotypes that go along with voice qualities and their perception. We also touch upon Adele…

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    Jan 30, 2022
25. Linguistically Aware - Episode December 21, 2021

    How do we perceive voices? This episode is about the ways we perceive different types of voices. In this episode, Dusan speaks with a U of Calgary assistant professor, Stephen Winters, about distinct voice qualities and how they are perceived in society.

    Jan 27, 2022
26. Linguistically Aware - Episode November 16, 2021

    This month's episode is about the use of gender-specific pronouns in language and research, and how they influence the way we think about gender roles in society. Dusan Nikolic speaks with Dr. Dennis Storoshenko from the University of Calgary about gender stereotyping issues and the perception of...

    Nov 20, 2021
27. Linguistically Aware - Episode September 21, 2021

    In this episode, I talk about linguistic variation and sociolinguistics, the field of Linguistics that explores how language and society are intertwined.

    Sep 17, 2021
28. Linguistically Aware - Episode August 17, 2021

    30-minute long podcast about language This episode is about a language property we call 'stress', and how it plays out as a plot trigger in the movie The Conversation.

    Aug 14, 2021
29. Linguistically Aware - Episode June 15, 2021

    In this episode, I talk about human vs. non-human communication and how language is similar but still different from animal forms of communication. I also play good old Serbian punk rock music.

    Jun 19, 2021
30. Linguistically Aware - Episode April 20, 2021

    This episode features common misconceptions about Linguistics and language use in general.

    May 12, 2021
31. Linguistically Aware - Episode March 16, 2021

    In this episode, Dusan speaks with Lyndon Rey about the ways speech recognition models work and how speech recognition is being used in industry. They touch upon the systems for analyzing speech and talk briefly about artificial intelligence systems.

    May 12, 2021
32. Linguistically Aware - Podcast February 16, 2021

    This is the seventh episode of Linguistically Aware in which Dusan talks to Dr. Mary O'Brien about accents, language learning and teaching. They debunk several myths such as why it is wrong to have accent reduction courses, whether children are better learners of a language than adults, whether…

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    Feb 20, 2021
33. Linguistically Aware - Podcast January 19, 2021

    In this episode, Dusan speaks with Corey Telfer about the documentation, preservation, and revitalization of indigenous languages. They talk about the Language Conservancy projects, the role linguists have in language documentation, the role elders have in language revitalization, and the role…

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    Feb 20, 2021
34. Linguistically Aware - Podcast December 15, 2020

    In this episode, Dusan speaks with Corey Telfer about Stoney Nakoda, an indigenous language spoken on the territory of the Calgary area. They talk about the course Corey is teaching at the University of Calgary, why this course is important both for the students and the community, what the goals…

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    Jan 9, 2021
35. Linguistically Aware - Podcast November 17, 2020

    In this episode of Linguistically Aware, Dusan talks to Dr. Svitlana Winters about the ways in which language is used in advertising. They talk about the ways language of persuasion is different from the language of education, what linguistic concepts lie behind catchy advertisement slogans, why...

    Dec 8, 2020
36. Linguistically Aware - Podcast August 18, 2020

    In this episode of Linguistically Aware, Dusan talks to Dr. David Sidhu about the ways in which sounds of language can be symbolic. They talk about the reasons why we project meaning to certain sounds, why some sounds are melifluous and gentle, why other sounds are intense and strong, what lies...

    Dec 8, 2020
37. Linguistically Aware - Podcast October 20, 2020

    In this episode of Linguistically Aware, Dusan talks to Dr. Joey Windsor about the ways in which languages can be invented. They talk about Dothraki, High Valyrian, the languages of the most popular series today – Game of Thrones. They also talk extensively about Klingon and many other invented...

    Dec 8, 2020
38. Linguistically Aware - Podcast September 15, 2020

    In this episode of Linguistically Aware, Dusan talks to Dr. Darin Flynn about the ways in which language is used in rap music. They talk about the course Dr. Flynn teaches – Rap Linguistics, the ways language is used in rap music, how rappers extend the use of rhymes, and why Eminem is a true...

    Dec 8, 2020