Podcasts about historical linguistics

Laura Spinney is the author of two novels and three non-fiction books, including Pale Rider, a historical exploration of the 1918 flu epidemic, which came out in 2017. In this interview, we discuss her latest book, Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global, which traces the evolution of Proto-Indo-European — the hypothetical, reconstructed common ancestor of all languages in the Indo-European language family — from its purported origins with the Yamnaya people of the Pontic steppe through migrations and metamorphoses into nearly 450 languages spoken by 3.4 billion people worldwide today.

Why do you speak differently than your grandma?

If there was one thing you think society should talk more about, what would it be? “Giving can be a small amount and it still makes a difference.”__________If you've been listening to me for a while, you may recall that I attending the inaugural SXSW Sydney event in 2023 and amoung some of the most incredible talks and panels I attended, I came across today's guest. Theresa Winters organised the panel and session with the topic being microgrants. Alternative forms of fund raising have always intrigued me and I've been involved in micro-financing and giving circles previously so I was eager to learn more. Theresa is an international-award-winning community builder. Her full-time role is as the Alumni Programs Coordinator at the University of Technology Sydney (Australia's #1 young university), where she creates global connections between alumni, organisations, and students. She was the winner of the international Community Manager Award from the Global Workspace Association.She is the co-founder and editor of The Plus Ones, a media company that focuses on telling people about the best events and experiences across Melbourne and Sydney. If that wasn't already enough, Theresa is also the Dean of the Sydney chapter of The Awesome Foundation, and recently served as a Board member of the Surry Hills Business Partnership. She also acts as the Sydney lead for the Fomo Killer Society - a private group of the best founders, operators, and community builders throughout Australasia. Theresa's favourite activities include running a book club (focused on prize-winning and acclaimed literature); teaching workshops about Historical Linguistics at Laneway Learning; and planning elaborate theme parties for her friends! It takes a special kind of human to do the work Theresa does, so please enjoy meeting this wonderful woman.For more information about Theresa, check out these places;-Instagram: @desdrata  and  @awesomefoundsydLinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresawinters/Website: https://www.awesomefoundation.org/en/chapters/sydneyHead to michellejcox.com for more information about the ONE QUESTION podcast, your host or today's guestsConnect with Michelle on Linkedin here:- @MichelleJCoxConnect with Michelle on Instagram here:- @michellejcoxConnect with Michelle on Facebook here - @michellejcoxAND, if you have a burning topic you'd love people to talk more about, or know someone who'd be great to come on the One Question podcast, please get in touch;- hello@michellejcox.com

In today's episode, historical linguists and language documentarists Francesco Perono Cacciafoco (Associate Professor at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/study/departments/school-of-humanities-and-social-sciences/department-of-applied-linguistics/department-staff/academic-staff/staff/francesco-perono) and Shiyue Wu (Linguistics' major at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University) discuss their research on Historical Linguistics and endangered and undocumented languages. Francesco provides us with background on his work reconstructing, documenting, and analyzing place names (toponyms) in languages from all over the world. He explains how place names can give insights into prehistoric languages, since they are more stable over time than other words. His recent book "Place Names: Approaches and Perspectives in Toponymy and Toponomastics", published by the Cambridge University Press (https://bit.ly/3NZc2I2), aims to be a comprehensive guide to toponymic research, the first academic handbook on Toponymy ever published in single volume.  The process of analyzing place names involves documentary research and etymological reconstruction, comparing toponyms among related languages, belonging to the same language families, recovering possible earlier 'proto-forms', and giving back to those special names their often long-forgotten morphological roots and original meanings. Challenges include to deal with unsolvable prehistoric / ancient place names and with toponyms connected with 'itinerant' and undocumented oral traditions and language contact in Aboriginal contexts. Shiyue shares how she conducts her Language Documentation fieldwork, interacting with indigenous speakers to understand and record words, names, grammatical elements, concepts, and cognitive processes behind their languages. She is, currently, studying number systems and counting among the Abui, Kula, and Sawila peoples from Alor Island (Southeastern Indonesia), documenting and safeguarding their languages and discovering cultural connections, naming processes, and oral traditions. The two linguists explain also the use of computational tools in their attempts to better understand and, ultimately, decipher undeciphered ancient writing systems, discovering the languages that they 'hide'. Their work focuses on Linear A, a Bronze Age script from the island of Crete, in the Aegean Sea, 'concealing' the so-called (unknown) Minoan language, and on the writing system of the Singapore Stone, a puzzling, fragmentary epigraph from the Lion City, in Southeastern Asia, which carries a script that is unique in the world (never found in any other inscription).  Shiyue's and Francesco's main goals are the reconstruction of prehistoric languages, following the 'dream' of 'giving back the voice' to our ancient ancestors who had not the technology of writing yet, and to document endangered and undocumented languages and cultures from around the world, to prevent their (often very high) risk of extinction and disappearance and to safeguard them for the future generations.  Overall, the episode provides an insightful look at the linguistic detective work involved in reconstructing, analyzing, and documenting place names, oral traditions, and endangered indigenous languages and, ultimately, at what Historical Linguistics and Language Documentation are. The researchers aim to preserve linguistic diversity and study how language evolves over time and intersects with culture, history, and thought.  Shiyue and Francesco can be contacted at Shiyue.Wu21@student.xjtlu.edu.cn and Francesco.Perono@xjtlu.edu.cn.  Links to some of the commented papers: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0024384116301784 https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/9/7/211 https://geografie.uvt.ro/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/08_III_CAC_2.pdf  https://brill.com/view/journals/ow/1/1/article-p1_1.xml?language=en --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/horacio-ps/message

We discuss how the Navajo language was used as an unbreakable code during World War II. We recommend reading Chester Nez's book Code Talker to learn more.

In this episode, I'll be talking with Tamisha Tan, a current linguistics student studying at Harvard University and who will be sharing all about her research on the Austronesian languages of West Timor as well as the field of historical linguistics. We'll be discussing topics from how historical languages can inform our understanding of modern languages, how dialectical differences form, and the process behind how historical linguists decipher languages.

Í þættinum er dregin fram eiginleg merking orða sem við notum í daglegu en veltum ekki endilega nánar fyrir okkur, fjallað er um tilhneigingu okkar til að túlka upp á nýtt hvar skiptingin í orði er og að lokum er litið á orð sem hefðu ekki orðið til ef túlkun okkar hefði ekki flækst fyrir. ////////////////  Ari Páll Kristinsson, Halldóra Jónsdóttir og Steinþór Steingrímsson (ritstjórar). (2016). Málið. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum. Sótt af https://malid.is/ /// Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. (1989). Íslensk orðsifjabók. Mál og menning. /// Bragi Halldórsson, Knútur S. Hafsteinsson og Ólafur Oddsson. (2005). Ormurinn langi. Bjartur. /// Campbell, Lyle. 2012. Historical Linguistics. An Introduction. 3. útg. Edinburgh University Press. /// Egill Helgason. (2019, 7. des.). Á slóðum Braga Kristjónssonar. dv.is. Sótt af https://www.dv.is/eyjan/2019/12/7/slodum-braga-kristjonssonar/?fbclid=IwAR3ts0H3SuLFFF58bi2nlL0gFn8iJ5QjuHvmh5HnCdXhtTUouaUJz1AH-fw /// Guðrún Kvaran. (2010, 29. nóv.). Af hverju segjum við ‘í morgunsárið‘? Sótt af https://www.visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=57236 /// Guðrún Helgadóttir. (1974). Jón Oddur og Jón Bjarni. Vaka-Helgafell. /// Harper, Douglas (ritstjóri). (2001). Online Etymology Dictionary. Sótt af https://www.etymonline.com/ /// Landsbókasafn Íslands – Háskólabókasafn o. fl. Án ártals. Tímarit.is. Sótt af https://timarit.is/

Katherine Cowley tells how she replicated the language of Jane Austen's time in The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet and her other historical mystery novels.

About one in every five people alive on the planet today speaks a language belonging to the Bantu family, and Bantu-speaking peoples have shaped the history of Africa in profound ways. But how did they expand from their original homeland, and how can we tell? Professor Kathryn de Luna joins me to talk about historical linguistics, archaeology, and how they can shed light on one of the most important processes of the past several thousand years.Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge Listen to new episodes 1 week early, to exclusive seasons 1 and 2, and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/tidesofhistory.Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Abhishek Avtans talks about the apabhraṃśa, a word that refers to the middle stage of the Indo-Aryan languages, crucial links between ancient languages like Sanskrit, and modern South Asian languages such as Hindi, Bangla, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Marathi, Nepali, and others. The first mention of apabhraṃśas is in Mahabhasya, a 2nd century BCE text by Patanjali, […]

Talk by Dr Barbara McGillivray, senior research associate at the University of Cambridge Section of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics and Research Fellow at The Alan Turing Institute

 Chapter 34 summarizes the future and past for significant characters in Many ConesMany Cones is a podcast novel based on true crime. The murders inspiring this crime fiction took place 30 miles from Chicago in Northwest Indiana, and captivated the area from the initial brutal crime scene all the way through and beyond discovery of a shockingly bizarre motive.   There were eight other teens arrested. Four of them were not part of the murders. They flipped like golden brown pancakes. The other four also turned state’s witnesses, but were looking at substantial jail time. All of the high schoolers told the same story. Albert Moffit was the head of a criminal organization with far reaching tentacles. The victims picked were criminals double crossing a bigger, more powerful criminal. The aunt and uncle Ricardo Morales complained about, gave up their immediate dream of moving from the cul-de-sac to a safer place to raise children. Instead, they hired a top-notch criminal attorney to defend their nephew. Ricardo thought they were stupid for spending the money. He expected Mr. Moffit to fix everything, after the furor passed. The block parties continued. Ricardo became a legend at the gatherings. As a result of his status, his family was spared from the growing violence that prompted weekly police raids. Ricardo’s mother, debilitated by his arrest and prosecution, quickly returned to her previous occupation. Two months after his conviction, she was found dead in a dark alley. Her neck was broken, and dried semen spotted her chin and lips. Joe Crownder, drunk one night, was involved in a fender bender with some black teenagers. He pulled a missing, Police issue revolver, and shot two of them. Luckily they lived. He disappeared, and was rumored to be living somewhere in Montana. A 24x20 framed photograph of him was hung behind the bar in the “Rebel Yell.” He was toasted nightly. Margie Grenk was promoted to Lieutenant. Multiple men and women within the detective bureau had threatened to quit unless she was elevated in rank. Delores and Richard Sparne sold their house and cashed in their life savings to hire the best criminal lawyer in the state. Richard, the Kid, treated his lawyer with disdain, upset that his mouthpiece didn’t understand the power exercised by highly organized criminal enterprises. The Kid and Ricardo remained close, and defended each other during continuous jailhouse attacks. Mr. and Mrs. Sparne leased an apartment in Ray Grandisha’s building. They became friends. Ray considered them some of the finest people he had ever met. Albert Moffit was appointed the most experienced public defender in the area. Since the state was paying for everything, his attorney was able to hire expensive consultants and psychiatrists. It didn’t help. No one was able to communicate with Albert or decipher the odd language he spoke.Finally, an egghead psychiatrist with a double doctorate in Archaeology and Historical Linguistics, determined he was speaking an obscure form of Druidish Gaelic, used primarily during the ritual of human sacrifice. No one could be found to translate. 

Í þættinum tekur Halla fyrir orðið glás og fjallar um uppruna orða tengdum ýmsum matréttum. //////////////// Heimildir: Ari Páll Kristinsson, Halldóra Jónsdóttir og Steinþór Steingrímsson (ritstjórar). (2016). Málið. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum. Sótt af https://malid.is/ //// Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon. (1989). Íslensk orðsifjabók. Reykjavík: Mál og menning. //// Campbell, Lyle. 2012. Historical Linguistics. An Introduction. 3. útg. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh. //// Harper, Douglas (ritstjóri). (2001). Online Etymology Dictionary. Sótt af https://www.etymonline.com/ //// Hoad, T. F. (1990). The Oxford Library of Words and Phrases. Í T. F. Hoad (ritstjóri), Word Origins: 3. bindi. London: Guild Publishing. //// Skjónukvæði. Sótt af http://www.icetones.se/textar/s/skjonukvaedi.htm

In this episode, we look at the emergence of comparative-historical grammar, focusing on the work of Franz Bopp and Jacob Grimm. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts References for Episode 2 Primary Sources Bopp, Franz (1816), Über das Conjugationssystem der…Read more ›

The first series of the History and Philosophy of the Language Sciences Podcast looks at the history of modern linguistics. We begin in this episode by examining the pre-history of comparative-historical grammar. Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts References for…Read more ›

Talk by Dr Marieke Meelen, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow, Theoretical & Applied Linguistics, University of Cambridge

Asya Pereltsvaig joins us to talk about historical linguistics, how language evolution relates to genetic evolution (or not), and what sorts of features are important in creating a phylogenetic tree of languages. https://pxlme.me/S7aXK2Bf

How can we understand how language changes over time?Historical linguists aim to map this language change through time by looking at both the structure and sounds of the language as well as its social environment. Minority, non-European languages such as indigenous American ones are barely represented in research on language change and limits our understanding of language change as a whole. Linguistics researcher Dr Ben Molineux is creating the first digitally-based account of change in Mapudungun, the endangered, ancestral language of the Mapuche people of Chile and Argentina.Related links:Corpus of Historical MapudungunBen Molineaux

In this week's podcast, we talk to AskHistorians flaired user u/rusoved, a historical linguist with a special focus on Slavic and Albanian linguistics. We discuss how historical linguists work backwards from modern language and dialects to work out how things used to be, as well as how the field itself developed and where it may be going on the future.

Try Squarespace for free: http://squarespace.com/MinuteEarth And subscribe to MinuteEarth! http://goo.gl/EpIDGd As we try to figure out the evolutionary trees for languages and species, we sometimes get led astray by similar but unrelated words and traits. Thanks to our Patreon patrons https://www.patreon.com/MinuteEarth and our YouTube sponsors. ___________________________________________ To learn more, start your googling with these keywords: Cladistics: A method of recreating evolutionary trees based on evidence about relationships. Etymology: The study of the origin of words and how they have changed throughout history. Convergent Evolution: A process whereby different species evolve similar traits in order to adapt to similar environments. Polyphyly: A group containing members with multiple ancestral sources. Homoplasy: A trait shared by a group of species that is not shared in their common ancestor. False Cognates: Pairs of words with similar sounds and meanings but unrelated etymologies. ___________________________________________ If you liked this week’s video, you might also like: A photographer who has taken amazing photos of unrelated people who look alike: http://mentalfloss.com/article/53774/photos-unrelated-people-who-look-exactly-alike _________________________________________ Support us on Patreon: https://goo.gl/ZVgLQZ And visit our website: https://www.minuteearth.com/ Say hello on Facebook: http://goo.gl/FpAvo6 And Twitter: http://goo.gl/Y1aWVC And download our videos on itunes: https://goo.gl/sfwS6n ___________________________________________ Credits (and Twitter handles): Script Writer: David Goldenberg (@dgoldenberg) Script Editor: Emily Elert (@eelert) Video Illustrator: Jessika Raisor Video Director: David Goldenberg, Emily Elert Video Narrator: Emily Elert With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Alex Reich, Kate Yoshida, Ever Salazar, Peter Reich Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder: http://www.soundcloud.com/drschroeder Image Credits: Lappet-faced Vulture (Old World) - Steve Garvie https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Torgos_tracheliotos_-Masai_Mara_National_Reserve,_Kenya-8.jpg Turkey vulture (New World) - Flickr User minicooper93402 https://www.flickr.com/photos/minicooper93402/5440526260 Crested Porcupine (Old World) - Flickr user 57777529@N02 https://www.flickr.com/photos/57777529@N02/5398915634 North American Porcupine (New World) - iStock.com/GlobalP https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/north-american-porcupine-or-canadian-porcupine-or-common-porcupine-walking-gm515605852-88578399 Chinchilla lanigera - Nicolas Guérin https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chinchilla_lanigera_(Wroclaw_zoo)-2.JPG Naked Mole Rat - Roman Klementschitz https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nacktmull.jpg Ganges river dolphin - Zahangir Alom, NOAA (Public Domain) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Platanista_gangetica_noaa.jpg Atlantic Spotted Dolphin - Flickr user 53344659@N05 https://www.flickr.com/photos/53344659@N05/4978423771/ Orcinus orcas - Robert Pittman, NOAA (Public Domain) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Killerwhales_jumping.jpg Euphorbia obesa - Frank Vincentz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:E_obesa_symmetrica_ies.jpg Astrophytum asterias - David Midgley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Astrophytum_asterias1.jpg Sweet William Dwarf - Nicholas M. Bashour https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spring_Flowers.JPG ___________________________________________ References: Atkinson, Q. and Gray, R. (2005). Darimont, C., Fox, C., Bryan, H., and Reimchen, C. (2015). Curious Parallels and Curious Connections — Phylogenetic Thinking in Biology and Historical Linguistics. Systematic Biology. 54:5 (513-526). Retrieved from: https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/54/4/513/2842862 Atkinson, Quentin. (2018). Personal Communication. Department of Evolution and Human Behavior at the University of Auckland. Bennu, D. (2004). The Evolution of Birds: An Overview of the Avian Tree of Life. Lab Animal. 33 (42-28)). Retrieved from: https://www.nature.com/articles/laban0504-42 De La Fuente, J.(2010). Urban legends: Turkish kayık ‘boat’ and “Eskimo” qayaq ‘kayak’. Studia Linguistica. 127 (7-24). Retrieved from: http://www.ejournals.eu/Studia-Linguistica/2010/2010/art/180/

Talk by Dr David Willis, Reader in Historical Linguistics, University of Cambridge

The History of the Indo-Europeans—An Agony in Six Fits; by Tim Pulju; From Volume CLXXIV, Number 4, of Speculative Grammarian, December 2015 — Once upon a time, on a warm spring day about 5500 years ago, a young Indo-European named Bright-Fame drove an ox-cart into the family compound. “Greetings, father,” the young man said, using the vocative case. (Read by Zack Sjöberg, Claude Searsplainpockets, Declan Whitford Jones, Trey Jones, Joey Whitford, and Mairead Whitford Jones.)

Modelling linguistic sound changes to "bring back to life" languages from the past.

The Laziest Language on Earth; by Claude Searsplainpockets; From Volume CLIII, Number 2, of Speculative Grammarian, November 2007 — Back in 1922, my Historical Linguistics professor, Benjamin Ide Wheeler, noted that ease of articulation is a driving force in language change—hence the regular occurrence of lenition rules—but the opposing need to maintain a clear communication channel prevents everything from degenerating to a long low mid vowel. Turns out he was wrong. (Read by Claude Searsplainpockets and Trey Jones.)

Who were the Indo-Europeans? Were they all-conquering heroes? Aggressive patriarchal Kurgan horsemen, sweeping aside the peaceful civilizations of Old Europe? Weed-smoking drug dealers rolling across Eurasia in a cannabis-induced haze? Or slow-moving but inexorable farmers from Anatolia? These are just some of the many possibilities discussed in the scholarly literature. But in 2012, a New York Times article announced that the problem had been solved, by a team of innovative biologists applying computational tools to language change. In an article published in Science, they claimed to have found decisive support for the Anatolian hypothesis. In their book, The Indo-European Controversy: Facts and Fallacies in Historical Linguistics (Cambridge University Press, 2015), Asya Pereltsvaig and Martin Lewis make the case that this conclusion is premature, and based on unwarranted assumptions. In this interview, Asya and Martin talk to me about the history of the Indo-European homeland question, the problems they see in the Science article, and the form that a good theory of Indo-European origins needs to take. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who were the Indo-Europeans? Were they all-conquering heroes? Aggressive patriarchal Kurgan horsemen, sweeping aside the peaceful civilizations of Old Europe? Weed-smoking drug dealers rolling across Eurasia in a cannabis-induced haze? Or slow-moving but inexorable farmers from Anatolia? These are just some of the many possibilities discussed in the scholarly literature. But in 2012, a New York Times article announced that the problem had been solved, by a team of innovative biologists applying computational tools to language change. In an article published in Science, they claimed to have found decisive support for the Anatolian hypothesis. In their book, The Indo-European Controversy: Facts and Fallacies in Historical Linguistics (Cambridge University Press, 2015), Asya Pereltsvaig and Martin Lewis make the case that this conclusion is premature, and based on unwarranted assumptions. In this interview, Asya and Martin talk to me about the history of the Indo-European homeland question, the problems they see in the Science article, and the form that a good theory of Indo-European origins needs to take.

Who were the Indo-Europeans? Were they all-conquering heroes? Aggressive patriarchal Kurgan horsemen, sweeping aside the peaceful civilizations of Old Europe? Weed-smoking drug dealers rolling across Eurasia in a cannabis-induced haze? Or slow-moving but inexorable farmers from Anatolia? These are just some of the many possibilities discussed in the scholarly literature. But in 2012, a New York Times article announced that the problem had been solved, by a team of innovative biologists applying computational tools to language change. In an article published in Science, they claimed to have found decisive support for the Anatolian hypothesis. In their book, The Indo-European Controversy: Facts and Fallacies in Historical Linguistics (Cambridge University Press, 2015), Asya Pereltsvaig and Martin Lewis make the case that this conclusion is premature, and based on unwarranted assumptions. In this interview, Asya and Martin talk to me about the history of the Indo-European homeland question, the problems they see in the Science article, and the form that a good theory of Indo-European origins needs to take. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who were the Indo-Europeans? Were they all-conquering heroes? Aggressive patriarchal Kurgan horsemen, sweeping aside the peaceful civilizations of Old Europe? Weed-smoking drug dealers rolling across Eurasia in a cannabis-induced haze? Or slow-moving but inexorable farmers from Anatolia? These are just some of the many possibilities discussed in the scholarly literature. But in 2012, a New York Times article announced that the problem had been solved, by a team of innovative biologists applying computational tools to language change. In an article published in Science, they claimed to have found decisive support for the Anatolian hypothesis. In their book, The Indo-European Controversy: Facts and Fallacies in Historical Linguistics (Cambridge University Press, 2015), Asya Pereltsvaig and Martin Lewis make the case that this conclusion is premature, and based on unwarranted assumptions. In this interview, Asya and Martin talk to me about the history of the Indo-European homeland question, the problems they see in the Science article, and the form that a good theory of Indo-European origins needs to take. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who were the Indo-Europeans? Were they all-conquering heroes? Aggressive patriarchal Kurgan horsemen, sweeping aside the peaceful civilizations of Old Europe? Weed-smoking drug dealers rolling across Eurasia in a cannabis-induced haze? Or slow-moving but inexorable farmers from Anatolia? These are just some of the many possibilities discussed in the scholarly literature. But in 2012, a New York Times article announced that the problem had been solved, by a team of innovative biologists applying computational tools to language change. In an article published in Science, they claimed to have found decisive support for the Anatolian hypothesis. In their book, The Indo-European Controversy: Facts and Fallacies in Historical Linguistics (Cambridge University Press, 2015), Asya Pereltsvaig and Martin Lewis make the case that this conclusion is premature, and based on unwarranted assumptions. In this interview, Asya and Martin talk to me about the history of the Indo-European homeland question, the problems they see in the Science article, and the form that a good theory of Indo-European origins needs to take. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who were the Indo-Europeans? Were they all-conquering heroes? Aggressive patriarchal Kurgan horsemen, sweeping aside the peaceful civilizations of Old Europe? Weed-smoking drug dealers rolling across Eurasia in a cannabis-induced haze? Or slow-moving but inexorable farmers from Anatolia? These are just some of the many possibilities discussed in the scholarly literature.... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who were the Indo-Europeans? Were they all-conquering heroes? Aggressive patriarchal Kurgan horsemen, sweeping aside the peaceful civilizations of Old Europe? Weed-smoking drug dealers rolling across Eurasia in a cannabis-induced haze? Or slow-moving but inexorable farmers from Anatolia? These are just some of the many possibilities discussed in the scholarly literature. But in 2012, a New York Times article announced that the problem had been solved, by a team of innovative biologists applying computational tools to language change. In an article published in Science, they claimed to have found decisive support for the Anatolian hypothesis. In their book, The Indo-European Controversy: Facts and Fallacies in Historical Linguistics (Cambridge University Press, 2015), Asya Pereltsvaig and Martin Lewis make the case that this conclusion is premature, and based on unwarranted assumptions. In this interview, Asya and Martin talk to me about the history of the Indo-European homeland question, the problems they see in the Science article, and the form that a good theory of Indo-European origins needs to take. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who were the Indo-Europeans? Were they all-conquering heroes? Aggressive patriarchal Kurgan horsemen, sweeping aside the peaceful civilizations of Old Europe? Weed-smoking drug dealers rolling across Eurasia in a cannabis-induced haze? Or slow-moving but inexorable farmers from Anatolia? These are just some of the many possibilities discussed in the scholarly literature. But in 2012, a New York Times article announced that the problem had been solved, by a team of innovative biologists applying computational tools to language change. In an article published in Science, they claimed to have found decisive support for the Anatolian hypothesis. In their book, The Indo-European Controversy: Facts and Fallacies in Historical Linguistics (Cambridge University Press, 2015), Asya Pereltsvaig and Martin Lewis make the case that this conclusion is premature, and based on unwarranted assumptions. In this interview, Asya and Martin talk to me about the history of the Indo-European homeland question, the problems they see in the Science article, and the form that a good theory of Indo-European origins needs to take. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XXXVIII — The SpecGram LingNerds are joined yet again by returning guest Tim Pulju. After some Lies, Damned Lies, and Linguistics, the LingNerds discuss automating historical linguistic reconstructions, and then discuss ideas for new linguistics- and language-themed holidays.

Session outline Historical perspectives on grammatical problems - 2 case studies 1. past tenses P. Simons 2. subjunctive C. Peersman Health warning Latin may be used! (but it won’t hurt). It is recommended that you download the accompanying PDF (found separately in this collection) in order to reference whilst watching this video. Professor Penny Simons & Dr Catharina Peersman from the Department of French.

Accompanying presentation to Penny Simons & Catharina Peersman's talk

Where are the Vampire Linguists?; by F. Ang Bangah; From Volume CLVII, Number 2, of Speculative Grammarian, September 2009 — Though many people have had trouble coming to terms with the truth about vampires since they “came out of the coffin” in the so-called Great Revelation—made possible by the creation of the Japanese synthetic blood substitute—their presence represents a unique and untapped opportunity for historians, linguists, and anthropologists. Non-supernaturals have had much opportunity to learn about vampires and others in the biographic works of Charlaine Harris, which have recently been dramatized in the HBO documentary television series True Blood. But one aspect of vampires’ existence has been largely ignored; since vampires are effectively immortal, and several are hundreds of years old—and a few thought to be even thousands of years old—the insight and data they can provide offer an unparalleled chance to pierce the mists of time and peer back into (non-vampire) human history. (Read by Trey Jones.)

J H Gray Lecture 2014 "Rethinking Greek Historical Linguistics" Donald Ringe Khan Term Professor of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania

Frog and Toad Teach Linguistics; by Keith Slater and illustrated by Kean Kaufmann; From Volume CLXIII, Number 2, of Speculative Grammarian, November 2011 — Frog was sitting in his office. He looked at his watch. He saw that it was 10:00. “This is a fine time for a morning coffee,” said Frog. “I will invite Toad to join me in the faculty lounge.” (Read by Keith Slater.)

The Language of Prehistory; by Merritt Greenberg and Joseph Ruhlen; From Volume CLI, Number 4 of Speculative Grammarian, October 2006. — Sticks and stones may break my bones and words used to hurt a lot, too. (Read by Keith Slater.)

Reconstructed Proto-Franco-Sino-Indonesian: Eleven Examples; by Tim Pulju; From Volume XVI, Number 3, of Psammeticus Quarterly, May, 1989. — In 1986, I published in Psammeticus Quarterly (Vol. XII, No. 4) an article entitled “Similarities in Form and Meaning in French, Chinese, and Indonesian,” which noted several similarities in form and meaning in French, Chinese, and Indonesian, and suggested that someone do further research to determine whether the languages were genetically related. (Read by Keith Slater.)

How to Do Fieldwork on Proto-Indo-European; by Tim Pulju, Dartmouth College; From Volume CLVIII, Number 4 of Speculative Grammarian, April 2010 (Read by David J. Peterson.)