the Weekly Linguist podcast
by Jarrette Allen, Lisa Sprowls
A weekly interview podcast about the languages of the world and the linguists who study them. Topics include specific languages, language families, unique structures. It’s upbeat, informative, and fun for linguists and language-lovers everywhere!
Episodes
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Episode 21: Matheus Freitas, part 1, on the vowels of Brazilian Portuguese
In this episode, Lisa returns after a time away, just in time to talk to Matheus Freitas of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais about the vowels of Brazilian Portuguese, how they work, how they are unique, and how they are changing.
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Episode 20: Amanda Lafleur, part 3, more on what makes Louisiana French unique
In this episode, we return after vacation and finish our discussion with Amanda Lafleur about Louisiana French. It's a fun - and funny! - episode, and we think you'll enjoy listening.
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Episode 19: Amanda Lafleur, part 2, on peculiarities in Louisiana French and Creole
This week we continue our conversation with Amanda Lafleur about Louisiana French. The first part of our conversation focused on the development of the Dictionary of Louisiana French. In this second episode, we are joined by a colleague, Nathan Wendt, who studies Louisiana Creole, and we begin...
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Episode 18: Amanda Lafleur, part 1, on the development of the Dictionary of Louisiana French
This week we continue our conversation about Louisiana French with the first of three episodes taken from our interview with Amanda Lafleur. Dr Ancelet's interview was about the socio-historical context, while our discussion with Amanda gets more into the actual features of Louisiana French. The...
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Episode 17: Barry Ancelet, part 3, on the future of Louisiana French
This week, we finish our discussion with Barry Ancelet. We turn to the future of Louisiana French, how it’s expressing itself, and the positive signs that there is a bright future ahead for French in Louisiana. PHOTO CREDIT: Philip Gould
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Episode 16: Barry Ancelet, part 2, on Louisiana French identity and literacy
This week we continue our conversation on Louisiana French with Dr. Barry Ancelet, noted folklorist and expert in Cajun culture. We talk about the differences between Louisiana French and Modern Standard French, how they developed independently, and the historical efforts to preserve Louisiana...
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Episode 15: Barry Ancelet, part 1, on Louisiana French
This week we begin a three-part series on Louisiana French with Dr. Barry Ancelet, noted folklorist and expert in Cajun culture. We talk about how French came to be spoken in Louisiana, how it thrived, how it was threatened, and the work that has been to help maintain it going forward.
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Episode 14: R. David Zorc, part 2, more on the Bisayan languages
In this week's episode, we continue our conversation with R. David Zorc, noted linguist of Philippine languages. We talk about the Philippine “Focus System”, genitive case markers, and the future of Linguistics in the Philippines.
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Episode 13: R. David Zorc, part 1, on the Bisayan languages
In this week's episode, we call R. David Zorc on the phone and talk about the Bisayan languages of the Philippines. It's a fun and informative interview. If you're interested in Philippine languages, or language classification, tune in and enjoy!
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Episode 12: Keren Rice, part 2, on Community-Based Research
One great interview deserves another! This week we are continuing our conversation with Dr. Keren Rice of the University of Toronto. We turn from the Dene languages to Community-based Research in the field of Linguistics. What are the concepts behind "working together" with a community to...
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Episode 11: Keren Rice, part 1, on the Dene languages
This is an exciting week! We are talking to Dr. Keren Rice of the University of Toronto, former President of the Linguistic Society of America, the Canadian Linguistic Association and the Society for the Study of Indigenous Languages of the Americas. We discuss the Dene (formerly Athabaskan)...
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Episode 10: Dina Stanković, part 3, more on Serbian and Slavic Languages
On this week’s episode, we finish our discussion with Miss Dina Stanković, a budding young linguist who studies — and podcasts on! — Slavic languages. Last week we talked about the morphology and some syntax of Serbian. This week we continue with the language’s syntax, and then discuss…
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Episode 9: Dina Stanković, part 2, more on Serbian and Slavic Languages
On this week’s episode, we continue our discussion with Miss Dina Stanković, a budding young linguist who studies — and podcasts on! — Slavic languages. Last week we talked about the history and socio-cultural context of Serbian, followed by a discussion of the phonetics and phonology (i.e. the...
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Episode 8: Dina Stanković, part 1, on Serbian and Slavic Languages
On this week's episode, we are excited to introduce a budding young linguist who studies -- and podcasts on! -- Slavic languages! Miss Dina Stanković gives us an introduction to Slavic languages in general, and then we discuss Serbian, her heart language, in particular. Enjoy!
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Episode 7: Joyce Bennett on Language and Empowerment among Kaqchikel Women in Guatemala
In this week’s episode, Jarrette talks to Dr. Joyce Bennett of Connecticut College about her research on the interplay between language, culture, and empowerment among Kaqchikel women in Guatemala. How and why are Kaqchikel women reclaiming their identity through clothing and language in Guatemala?
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Episode 6: Anthony Grant, part 2, more on Lexicostatistics, Tagmemics, Word Borrowings, and Philippine languages
Today’s episode provides the listener with a few “outtakes” from Jarrette’s conversation with Anthony Grant that we weren’t able to include in the first episode (Episode 5) but that definitely were worth including! Topics include: cognacy grids and how lexicostatistics resembles biology…
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Episode 5: Anthony Grant, part 1, on Lexicostatistics Today
On this week’s episode, we interview Dr. Anthony Grant of Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, Lancashire, in the UK. This episode discusses one aspect of language diversity around the world: the methodology called lexicostatistics. What is lexicostatistics? How is it related to the controversial…
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Episode 4: Judie Maxwell, part 3, on Language Rights and Revitalization
In this episode, we finish the conversation with Judie Maxwell of Tulane University. Topics include: how languages encode human knowledge and worldviews; the autonomy of a language community to choose if, when, and where to speak their language (or not); heritage communities and heritage…
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Episode 3: Judie Maxwell, part 2, on Language Death and Vitality
In this episode, we continue our conversation with Judie Maxwell of Tulane University. We start by talking about "the language split by a river" in Guatemala, and then we explore how languages dwindle down to a single speaker. We then discuss reasons why some people refuse to speak their language...
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Episode 2: Judie Maxwell, part 1, on Language Diversity
In this episode, we talk to our own professor Judith M. Maxwell of Tulane University about language diversity. Because the purpose of the podcast is to discuss the languages of the world, the first few episodes are intended to set the stage for a discussion of the world's languages. We talk very...
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Episode 1: Introduction to the podcast
In this inaugural episode, we introduce ourselves and the podcast! We discuss our passions for language, how we got into Linguistics, and all that jazz. We then talk about what to expect from the podcast, including why we decided to do a new podcast on Linguistics. We laugh, we open up about...
About this show
A weekly interview podcast about the languages of the world and the linguists who study them. Topics include specific languages, language families, unique structures. It’s upbeat, informative, and fun for linguists and language-lovers everywhere!
Hosted by
Jarrette Allen, Lisa Sprowls