The 3 Best Lingthusiasm - A podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics Podcast Episodes
1) 33: Why spelling is hard — but also hard to change
Why does “gh” make different sounds in “though” “through” “laugh” “light” and “ghost”? Why is there a silent “k” at the beginning of words like “know” and “knight”? And which other languages also have...Show More
2) 01: Speaking a single language won’t bring about world peace
Wouldn’t it solve so many problems in the world if everyone just spoke the same language? Not so fast! Lingthusiasm is a brand-new podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics, hosted by Lauren Gaw...Show More
3) 73: The linguistic map is not the linguistic territory
Maps of languages of the world are fun to look at, but they’re also often suspiciously precise: a suspiciously round number of languages, like 7000, mapped to dots or coloured zones with suspiciously ...Show More
4) 112: When language become-s(3SG) linguistic example-s(PL)
Language is all around us. This sentence right here, is language! But between the raw experience of someone saying something and a linguistic analysis of what they've said, there are certain steps tha...Show More
5) 111: Whoa!! A surprise episode??? For me??!!
Wait, surprise is associated with a particular intonation!? Oh, you can see surprise by measuring electricity from your brain!? Hang on, some languages have grammatical marking for surprise!? In thi...Show More
6) 110: The history of the history of Indo-European - Interview with Danny Bate
Before there was English, or Latin, or Czech, or Hindi, there was a language that they all have in common, which we call Proto-Indo-European. Linguists have long been fascinated by the quest to get a ...Show More
110: The history of the history of Indo-European - Interview with Danny Bate
1:00:40 | Nov 20th, 2025
7) 109: On the nose - how the nose shapes language
We often invoke the idea of language by showing the mouth or the hands. But the nose is important to both signed and spoken languages: it can be a resonating chamber that air can get shaped by, as wel...Show More
8) 108: Highs and lows of tone in Babanki - Interview with Pius Akumbu
Linguistic research has its highs and lows: from staging a traditional wedding to learn about ceremonial words to having your efforts to found a village school disrupted by civil war. Linguistic resea...Show More
9) 107: Urban Multilingualism
When we try to represent languages on a map, it's common to assign each language a zone or a point which represents some idea of where it's used or where it comes from. But in reality, people move aro...Show More
10) 106: Is a hotdog a sandwich? The problem with definitions
We asked you if a burrito was a sandwich, and you said 'no'. We asked you if ravioli was a sandwich and you said 'heck no'. We asked you if an ice cream sandwich was a sandwich and things...started to...Show More