Wherein we #GiveLinguistsSwords. (Please note that this recording cut out a lot of background noise and claps/cheers, so if there is a weird volume jump up or down, that might be why.)

Jump right to:

• 00:04:42 Is syntax fake?

• 00:10:14 Favorite and least favorite words

• 00:23:48 How has profanity evolved with language?

• 00:34:40 What are the rules for onomatopoeia and how do they differ across languages?

• 00:41:13 What is lenition?

• 00:47:56 How do puns work in other languages?

• 01:02:15 What are fricatives?

• 01:02:33 The LxAD backstory

• 01:06:19 The first time we bring up L’Académie

• 01:08:12 Dead languages work poorly on the internet

• 01:12:44 Best stories of word mix-ups

• 01:18:12 How do colors work in different languages?

• 01:29:01 “It’s all Greek to me”

• 01:29:55 Where did the word orange come from?

• 01:31:36 Dialect-dependent homophones

• 01:34:56 What’s the most useless part of language?

• 01:40:29 Why is English spelling wonderful?

• 01:59:42 Sarah has to pronounce the hardest IPA sounds

• 02:07:30 The Thing At The End

Covered in this episode:

• ⁠Kewpie mayo⁠

• That feeling you get when someone else is suffering and you’re just glad it’s not you

• How to be rude and insulting but still G-rated

• Translator love

• SWORDS

• On a scale of dead to Amish…

• How to accidentally come on to someone in Spanish and ASL

• Cappuccinos

• Moose

• ⁠Dessus vs. dessous⁠

Links and other post-show thoughts:

• Due to our link shortener going down, please click through for the ⁠full list of additional links⁠.

Ask us questions:

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

Credits:

Linguistics After Dark is produced by Emfozzing Enterprises. Luca edits, Sarah does show notes, transcription is a team effort. Our music is ⁠“Covert Affair” by Kevin MacLeod⁠. Join us at ⁠linguisticsafterdark.com/volunteer⁠!

And until next time… if you weren’t consciously aware of your tongue in your mouth, now you are :)