Because Language - a podcast about linguistics, the science of language.

Australian magpies are even cleverer birds than we thought. New research from Dr Stephanie Mason shows that they do two language-like things we used to think only humans could do: learn their calls socially, and combine their calls in a way that looks a lot like syntax. So are we calling this language? If so, how are the linguists taking it? Stephanie joins us to talk about magpies, media, and the territoriality of linguists. Timestamps 00:00 Start 00:54 Intros: Your favourite bird 07:10 What's coming up: Magpies 09:34 Join us! Patreon spruikery 11:32 News: Jamaican MP shut down for speaking Jamaican in Parliament 19:35 News: Whale phonology 31:46 News: Unicode to include new genderless pronoun for Mandarin 36:37 News: China and the Rubio Workaround 38:16 Related or Not: New theme from Hugh! 40:05 Related or Not 1: SLAP, SMACK, and SWAT 45:45 Related or Not 2: SOUND 56:13 Related or Not 3: SPECK, SPECKLE, SPECTRE, and SPECTRUM 01:00:36 Talking about magpies with Stephanie Mason 01:03:38 About Australian magpies 01:06:17 The problem of anthropomorphism 01:15:21 What's the semantic content? 01:22:52 Linguists can be territorial about language 01:34:48 Social complexity drives new behaviours 01:45:19 Magpies learn their calls socially 01:49:42 Magpies combine their calls 01:58:44 Magpies learn calls across the lifespan 02:05:36 Finding those birds 02:08:10 Doing public engagement: Are metaphors actually helping? 02:17:26 Words of the Week: mog 02:24:54 Word of the Week: pied-à-terre 02:27:48 Word of the Week: dummymander 02:33:03 Word of the Week: Sooooo-ee! 02:39:22 Etymology of Guacamole 02:39:35 Comment: guacamole = testicle sauce? 02:41:28 The reads 02:46:28 Outtake

What goes on in our minds when we construct an utterance? Linguists often use syntax trees to represent the structure of sentences, but are they psychologically real? Yngwie Nielsen and Dr Morten Christiansen have found evidence for something else: we can recognise patterns in strings of words, even when they don't form coherent "treelets". They're giving us a walkthrough of their latest work. Timestamps 00:00 Start 00:31 Introductions: Yngwie and Morten 05:19 Insights into linguistics communication 07:45 What are syntax trees? 09:13 Why linguists love syntax trees 14:15 Treelets vs chunks: Looking beyond hierarchical structure 17:46 Wanna and gonna: Words that cross treelet boundaries 22:43 How to prime someone 28:18 Priming in this experiment: People do recognise chunks 32:26 Are people just filling in the treelet blanks? 35:23 Were they accidentally smuggling in treelets? 38:47 Do we process both treelets and chunks? 42:23 DensiTrees: A way of representing fuzzy networks 44:01 What are we doing mentally when we make an utterance? 47:20 What is language for? 49:29 Grammatical glue: How do we connect chunks? 53:23 Being able to language is bonkers 56:30 Should we be studying language differently? 01:01:09 Wrap-up and goodbyes

Creators have to be mindful of what to say and what not to say in their content. This affects the language we're exposed to — and what we say IRL. But it's part of an old process. Popular LingToker Adam Aleksic breaks it down. He's the author of the new book Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language. Timestamps Start: 0:00 Intros: 1:42 News: 12:25 Related or Not: 29:59 Interview with Adam Aleksic: 44:07 Words of the Week: 1:15:10 Comment: 1:37:56 The Reads: 1:39:56

How did language start? What do all languages have in common? How does language really work? Many answers have been posed to these questions, but one thing is for sure: interaction is the combustion chamber where everything happens. We're having a chat with linguistic lion Stephen Levinson, author of The Interaction Engine. Timestamps Introductions: 0:19 These fascinating facts about language will make you (or Dr Levinson) a hit at any party: 3:47 The mechanics of speech production: 06:01 What's going on when we're talking or listening? 8:46 Cultural differences in conversational norms: 20:33 Universals of interaction: 22:10 Metaphors of space may have been a motivator for language: 25:53 The role of gesture in language development: 28:47 Cooperation and empathy in language: 34:59 What one thing explains the most about language?: 45:56 Disclosure: Hedvig is employed at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, where Dr Levinson is an emeritus director.

Gesture is everywhere. We wave our hands when we talk, even if we're alone. Signed languages are, of course, full languages that use gesture. And it could even be argued that emoji are the online equivalent of gesture. It's inescapable. And why would we want to do without it, when it's so useful? So we're talking about gesture and language with Dr Lauren Gawne, author of Gesture: A Slim Guide. Our chat with Lauren is available on video, so you can see all the gestures! Link: https://youtu.be/kHPgyXhl8Kk Timestamps Intros: 0:19 News: 7:42 Related or Not: 23:20 Interview with Lauren Gawne: 44:10 Words of the Week: 1:32:53 The Reads: 1:48:10

Artificial intelligence (so-called) is typified by its boom and bust cycles, and we're in a boom now. But as more and more money pours in with decreasing returns, we're going to see a shakeout, and hype is rushing in to stoke the enthusiasm. In other words, the con is on. Dr Emily M. Bender and Dr Alex Hanna are co-hosts of the podcast Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000, and the authors of The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want. They join us for this episode.

Spelling reform in English: a constant failure? Or a secret success? Waves upon waves of optimists have tried to make English spelling reflect its sound and escape its etymological origins, but have never seen their vision fully realised. Author Gabe Henry has chronicled the attempts, and he joins us on this episode. Gabe is the author of Enough Is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Easier to Spell, available from Dey Street Books. Timestamps Cold open: 0:00 Intros: 1:44 News: 9:50 Related or Not: 32:21 Interview with Gabe Henry: 49:23 Words of the Week: 1:33:41 Comment: 1:50:50 The Reads: 1:53:57 Outtakes: 2:03:28

Breaking news: The president of the United States intends to sign an executive order designating English the official language of the USA. Is this a big deal? Why was this necessary, and what happens now? Dr Carmen Fought joins us on this episode. Timestamps Theme and intros: 0:00 Discussing the executive order with Carmen: 0:56 Thanks and reads: 47:38