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!