Where did African American English come from?

Why some words are just funny: Why do so many of us laugh at a word like poop but not at, say, treadmill? Is it all down to their meaning? Or are we also responding to the sound of these words? Psycholinguist Chris Westbury set out to discover the answer. Assisted by an inventive comp by Subtitle

27 min listen

The speechways of the folk: Does your grandmother call a chest of drawers a dresser? Or a bureau? Or perhaps a chiffonier? Over the years and across regions, Americans have favored many different words for furniture—and much else. Since 1929, the Linguistic Atlas Project has been d by Subtitle

19 min listen

Hello, Goodbye: Steve Jobs last words were: Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow. Oscar Wilde went with: Either that wallpaper goes, or I do. (At least, thats how the story goes.) But the way most of us part company with language at the end of our lives is more halting and gradual. E by Subtitle

36 min listen

Will climate change wipe out French in Louisiana?: For hundreds of years, people living in Louisianas bayou country have spoken French. But rising sea levels are submerging entire communities, forcing people to abandon their homes. As native French speakers move away, will the language survive in this mo by Subtitle

27 min listen

Presenting More Than a Feeling: We cant always find words to describe our emotions—not in English, at least. In this episode, Saleem Reshamwala asks friends who speak other languages to share their favorite emotion words and phrases. He also seeks guidance from psychologist Ashley Ruba by Subtitle

36 min listen

The language of the outside people: In this episode, we tell the inspiring, heartbreaking story of Radio Haiti. For several decades, the station broadcast not just in French, spoken by Haitis elite, but also in Kreyòl, spoken by rich and poor alike. The Kreyòl-language programs communicate by Subtitle

39 min listen

‘Manifesting’ the language of self-help: If you’ve ever set boundaries, taken up a gratitude practice or manifested, you’re already well-versed in the language of self-help. Over its long history, self-help has acquired its own lexicon, often repurposing words along the way. Nowadays, the flavo by Subtitle

23 min listen

When did comedians start saying ‘punching up’ and ‘punching down’?: Theyre not in American dictionaries yet, but the terms, punching up and punching down are on the lips of many comedians. With the help of linguist and journalist Ben Zimmer and British comedian Richard Herring, we trace the migration of these words from by Subtitle

32 min listen

The rare joys of learning Finnish: Kavita Pillay recently moved to Helsinki with her Finnish husband and half-Finnish daughter. While husband and daughter effortlessly embraced their new linguistic surroundings, Kavita...didnt. In this episode, she seeks guidance from other immigrants wit by Subtitle

29 min listen

Learning to love apostrophes: Ellen Jovin belongs that rare breed of human with a passion for grammar. You will too if you spend a few minutes with her, your grammar anxiety melting away in minutes. Thats what happens when apostrophe-challenged Patrick meets Ellen at her Grammar Tabl by Subtitle

27 min listen

Where did African American English come from?: Are the roots of African American English mainly African? Or English? Or something else? Linguists—and others—dont agree. Ciku Theuri guides us through the theories. Opinions from Nicole Holliday, John McWhorter, John Rickford and Sunn mCheaux, who we al by Subtitle

24 min listen

How music has shaped African American speech: Guest host Ciku Theuri speaks with music writer Jordannah Elizabeth about the intimate relationship between music and Black American speech. That connection was never closer than in the 1930s and 40s when Cab Calloways Hepster Dictionary and Sister Roset by Subtitle

17 min listen

A brief history of death threats: Until recently, issuing a death threat required some effort. Today, anyone with a phone or computer can make a threat—or receive one. The result is a “golden age” for the dark realm of personal threats. Forensic linguist Tanya Karoli Christensen and by Subtitle

25 min listen

Latin, the undead language: If Latin is dead, why is it easy to find meetups of people speaking it? Why are a group of scholars and lexicographers working on what has become a century-spanning Latin dictionary project? Former Latin student Cristina Quinn challenges Patrick Cox to s by Subtitle

24 min listen

The precious secrets of Udi: Never heard of the Udi language? Get ready to be beguiled by this poster child for endangered languages. The history of the Udi people and their language includes an ancient kingdom, an exodus to escape persecution, and the creation of a bespoke alphabet by Subtitle

25 min listen

The future sound of Black English by Subtitle

19 min listen

Americans, Brits and the foreignness of English: American English and British English arent different languages. But theyre not the same either, even if theyre getting closer. There are all those different words for things: diaper/nappy, faucet/tap and so on. More challenging are common words used in s by Subtitle

25 min listen

A German-speaking outpost in the American Midwest: German used to be one of the most widely-spoken languages in the United States, A survey in 1900 listed 613 US-based German-language newspapers. Today, only a handful survive, and German is barely spoken at all. One exception is Cole Camp, Missouri, wher by Subtitle

28 min listen

Is Mx here to stay?: When a word first enters the language, it sounds weird to some, radical to others and comforting to just a few. Only later does it seem natural. So it was with the honorific Ms in the 20th century. So it may be with the non-binary Mx. Today, British bank by Subtitle

29 min listen

Sugar Sammy’s multilingual comedy: A conversation with comedian with Samir Khullar who grew up speaking Punjabi, Hindi, English and French. He does standup in all those languages, sometimes mixing them up. He has toured more than 40 countries, but audiences in his native Québec perhaps se by Subtitle

20 min listen

Season 4 is coming: In our upcoming season, we have stories about voice clones, tongue twisters and small languages fighting back. Well hear from comedians, bilingual lovers and badly-behaved grandmothers. Look out for the first episode on November 1. Music by Harry Edv by Subtitle

3 min listen

How the brain of an improv performer works: Does the brain of a improv comedian or freestyle rapper function in a particular way? Is it processing language faster than a regular, lower-improvising brain? Or is something else also going on, something to do with how we judge ourselves? We asked ou by Subtitle

24 min listen

From linguistic shame to pride: Israel Jesus used to be ashamed of being from the Mexican state of Oaxaca and speaking the local indigenous tongue, Triqui. When he moved to Salinas, California, a kid in his high school told Jesus he was destined to work in the fields nearby. But it was by Subtitle

33 min listen

Easing into multilingualism: Mastering six languages sounds like a slog, right? But in some corners of Europe, it happens—maybe not effortlessly, but more easily than in, say, Ohio. Gaston Dorren grew up speaking Limburgish at home, and Dutch at school. He fell in love in German and by Subtitle

21 min listen

The Irish language renaissance: Irish is among Europes oldest languages. Its a near miracle that anyone speaks it today. Patrick talks with online Irish teacher Mollie Guidera whose students include a Kentucky farmer who speaks Irish to his horses; also with Irish scholar Jim McCloskey by Subtitle

35 min listen

Why the French use the English word ‘black’: The French language is replete with words borrowed from English, like weekend and podcasting. But French speakers use of black is in a category of its own: this one short syllable tells the story of Frances racial and colonial legacies and how they stack by Subtitle

22 min listen

Chinese sci-fi has crossed the translation barrier: Netflixs lavish new adaptation of Liu Cixins The Three-Body Problem is the latest translation of one of this centurys best, and best-selling, sci-fi novels. In this episode, we track the role of translation—on screen and on the page—in the global rise of by Subtitle

30 min listen

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Where did African American English come from?

Where did African American English come from?

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