Subtitle

Language unites and divides us. It mystifies and delights us. Patrick Cox and Kavita Pillay tell the stories of people with all kinds of linguistic passions: comedians, writers, researchers; speakers of endangered languages; speakers of multiple languages; and just speakers—people like you and me.

Latest Episodes:

A metaphor for our times May 27, 2020

Show notes

In unsettled times, we reach for metaphors. They help us make sense of the nonsensical—or at least that's what we tell ourselves. In this episode, we hear from linguist Elena Semino, editor of a crowd-sourced publication called the Metaphor Menu intended for people with cancer. She assesses the merits of coronavirus metaphors, from battlefield clichés to forest fires to contaminated swimming pools.

Photo by Jo Zimny Photos. Music by Moss Harman, Megan Woffard, Alexandra Woodward, Heath Cantu, Sights of Wonder, Remodal, Sons of Hades, Podington Bear. Read a transcript of this episode here.

In quarantine with Joe Wong May 13, 2020

Show notes

Joe Wong is a brilliant bilingual comedian. In the US, he does standup. In his native China he hosts a popular TV game show. Recently his comedy has become more political: he is confronting US racial tensions head-on. In quarantine, Joe is writing a book, cooking for his son (to his son's dismay), and decrying virus-related anti-Asian hate crimes.

Music in this episode by Podington Bear, Blue Dot Sessions, Particle House and Treadline. Read a transcript of this episode here.

In quarantine with Joanna Hausmann Apr 29, 2020

Show notes

Bilingual comedian Joanna Hausmann (pictured with her mother Ana Julia Jatar-Hausmann) is sitting out the lockdown at her Venezuelan parents' New England home. She tells us of her love of outdated Venezuelan slang; also about parenting her parents (in both Spanish and English); and how the restrictions of quarantine are unleashing her creative instincts.

Photo by Joanna Hausmann. Music by Podington Bear, Isobelle Walton, Nathan Welch, Flooaw, and Million Eyes. Read a transcript of this episode here.

At war, and not at war Apr 15, 2020

Show notes

In this episode, we talk with American medical student Esther Kim (pictured). She's trying to overcome her suspicion of people with a particular accent, one that she's come to associate with racist taunts. The COVID-19 wave of anti-Asian harassment has made things worse. Also, Stanford professor Seema Yasmin tells us why pandemics bring out the language of war.

Photo by Esther Kim. Music by Bonnie Grace, David Celeste, Podington Bear, Philip Ayers, Craft Case, Airae, and Joseph Alesci. Read a transcript of this episode here.

One virus, many languages Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

We can't travel. We can't hug or visit loved ones. But we can talk our way through this pandemic — and we're doing just that, in most of the world's languages. In this episode we hear from Kavita Pillay's mother, who tells a story from her childhood in southern India. And a filmmaker in New York talks about her home quarantine activity, translating Russian video footage full of phrases from the past.

Photos: Nola Cox and Sauli Pillay. Music by Podington Bear and Blue Dot Sessions. Read a transcript of this episode here.

Going Dutch Mar 18, 2020

Show notes

Hassnae Bouazza was born in Morocco. She didn't speak a word of Dutch when she immigrated to the Netherlands, though today it's effectively her mother tongue. The Dutch government now insists that would-be immigrants like Bouazza pass a Dutch language "entrance exam." Are Dutch officials using language to keep "undesirables" out? Or is speaking the local language an essential part of living in the Netherlands?

Photo by Patrick Cox. Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Podington Bear, Atisound, and Gridded. Thanks to Sara Wallace Goodman, Ben Coates, Jeremy Helton, Liesbeth Siers, Tracey Keij-Denton, Jos Beelen, Carol Zall, Clark Boyd, Laura Rumbley, and Rose Stories in Amsterdam. Read a transcript of this episode here.

How to communicate with aliens Mar 04, 2020

Show notes

If there are extraterrestrials out there, what kind of messages might they be sending us? How might we decipher those messages? And should we hit reply?

Image by Mike Licht via Flickr Creative Commons. Music by Million Eyes, From Now On, Heath Cantu, Christian Andersen, Podington Bear. Read a transcript of this episode here.

Did Katrina kill the New Orleans accent? Feb 19, 2020

Show notes

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina displaced tens of thousands of New Orleanians. Many never returned to the city. Others have since moved in, bringing with them different languages and dialects. Some locals now wonder if they have lost 'ownership' of New Orleans English. Has the linguistic footprint of one of America’s most historically rich and diverse cities changed forever?

Read a transcript of this episode here.

The talk of the forest Feb 05, 2020

Show notes

In folklore and fiction there's a rich tradition of trees that talk, from Greek mythology to The Wizard of Oz. But that's make-believe, right? Well, maybe. Many ecologists now believe that trees are in constant communication with their surroundings. Linguists may roll their eyes at claims of ‘talk,’ or ‘language.’ But observing how trees interact helps us understand the limits of language.

Photo by David Baron via Flickr creative commons. Music by Josef Falkenskold, From Now On, Silver Maple, Imprisoned, Josef Bel Habib and Podington Bear. Read a transcript of this episode here.

Is a polyglot’s brain different? Jan 22, 2020

Show notes

Susanna Zaraysky, speaker of nine languages, is one of those people who seem able to pick up French or Portuguese almost overnight. In reality, it's not so effortless—but is she cognitively predisposed to attaining fluency in so many languages? We follow her to an MIT lab where researchers put her through a series of tests.

Photo by Patrick Cox. Music by Silver Maple, Lucention, Pause For Concern, Podington Bear and Blue Dot Sessions. Read a transcript of this episode here.

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