Wherein we discuss how linguistics is everywhere but linguists are nowhere, and introduce the concept of the unsolicited etymology swear jar.

Jump right to:

01:33 “Universal” word lists, bad puns, and university “field work” stories
07:25 What composes an accent? What counts as a dialect? What about “little kid speak”?
24:16 What are the most valuable ways linguistics can improve society?
45:45 Favorite ridiculous etymologies
54:31 The puzzler: What do the words JOB, POLISH, and HERB have in common?

Covered in this episode:

We love Car Talk
Dialects and accents often overlap but are not the same thing
Dialects and registers also often overlap but are not the same thing
Obligatory “A language is just a dialect with an army and a navy.”
Linguistics After Dark has no official positions on contentious geopolitical issues
Understanding the value of descriptivism and the reality of language evolution
Hot takes on regional identity in the UK vs North America vs California
Why don’t journalists know that linguists exist?
A story that has nothing to do with financial advising, and everything to do with geese
OK is the only acronym etymology that’s all correct

Links and other post-show thoughts:

Swadesh’s first name was Morris
Mutual intelligibility on the Deutsch/Dutch border
More mutual intelligibility, including Scandinavia, from an A++ YouTube channel
Victor Mair, coiner of the word topolect
All sorts of ways linguists and linguistics benefit society
BBC and Received Pronunciation
Here are some diagrams about the overlap between linguistics and other fields (this last one is the one Sarah had in mind)
The Unsolicited Etymology Trivia Jar
Etymologies of canary, easel, and lettuce
The full story of what the fuck, geese (spoiler alert: 356≠390)
And yes, ⟨mint⟩ (where money is printed) is also related to ⟨moneta⟩
Etymologies of island, isle, OK, and lox (which has a dialectical variation still spelled "lax"!)

Ask us questions:

Send your questions (text or voice memo) to questions@linguisticsafterdark.com, or find us as @lxadpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Credits:

Linguistics After Dark is produced by Emfozzing Enterprises. Eli edits, Jenny transcribes, and Sarah does show notes. Our music is “Covert Affair” by Kevin MacLeod.

Thanks for listening!

Episode 6: Hamburger. Hamburger? Hamburger!

Linguistics After DarkBy Linguistics After DarkNov 11, 2023