Because Language (becauselangpod)

BEN: Right.

HEDVIG: She'd be like, "Does he need water?" or something. And we'd be like, "Yes. SHE could be great with a bowl of water."

DANIEL: It's like when little kids say, "I think of the number seven as a girl," or something.

HEDVIG: No, it's just that, to [my grandmother], dogs conceptually were male, and cats were conceptually female. So, if she saw a cat or dog she didn't know, she would assume… I agree it should be 50/50, but we had, for example, female dog, she would call her HE all the time.

How do we make better language choices? And what's beyond conscious language? Check out our episode with @karenyin.bsky.social, author of the Conscious Style Guide.
Wherever you get your podcasts.

becauselanguage.com/123-consciou...

I will be honest, I do keep forgetting Facebook exists.

This is one of the world's great lexicographical resources. It is like shutting down the OED.

Live episode coming up | Because Language Get more from Because Language on Patreon

We're having a live episode with Martha Barnette @marthabarnette.bsky.social of @waywordradio.org.
She's the author of "Friends With Words", which is full of ripping tales of word histories.

All patrons are invited, even free ones, so click here to find out when.

www.patreon.com/posts/134667...

Autological words

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autolog...

Why the ANDC Matters? - The ANDC is Australia’s leading centre for lexicographical research, jointly funded by ANU and Oxford University Press. - It is the definitive authority on Australian English—documenting regionalisms, Aboriginal English, and producing landmark publications like the Australian National Dictionary. - Its widely celebrated “Word of the Year” initiative connects Australians with their evolving language and identity. - For ANU, it provides immense national and international visibility—while operating as a low-cost, high-impact asset. The Cost of Closure: - Damage to Australian English: Halting systematic documentation of our unique national language. - Setback for Indigenous Languages: Undermining efforts to research and preserve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. - Erosion of National Identity: Undermining the role of language in shaping how Australians see themselves, their history, and their culture. - Damage to ANU’s Reputation: Compromising its mission as a national university and leader in cultural heritage research.

The latest round of cuts at ANU include an outrageous plan to close the Australian National Dictionary Centre (ANDC). ANU has forgotten its vital function as the national university.

Please sign this petition urging ANU to reconsider and protect the ANDC:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

What's a "boomerask"?

From our episode 123: Conscious Language (with Karen Yin)
Tx to listener Sydney for this suggestion

122: The Interaction Engine (with Stephen Levinson) | Because Language Get more from Because Language on Patreon

Here’s our episode with Stephen Levinson.

www.patreon.com/posts/133973...

All of this. When I revamped the intro to ling unit at UWA, I started with interaction.

I grouped implication not with pragmatics (as is usual) but as part of a discussion of interaction and Levinson’s production bottleneck. It was intuitive, and felt right.

Digestive biscuits have no real salutary powers beyond being tasty, especially the ones covered with chocolate.

So why “digestive”? The sodium bicarb was thought to act as an antacid. When malt was used, it was thought to “pre-digest” them.

Don’t let it give you trust issues. Digest some today!

every time someone says “I asked ChatGPT” I hear “I asked the hallucinating machine of confident lies” and idk it just doesn’t engender a sense of trust you know

Language is a wonder. As in: We wonder what makes it all work. So we're talking to linguistic lion Stephen Levinson of ‪@mpi-nl.bsky.social about his new book The Interaction Engine. (The book is open source, by the way!)

Episode coming soon.

"How was it for you?"

I don't know. Statistically… likely.

Behold! The Brain Chill-O-Matic 9000.
Cat not included.

121: Learning from LLMs (with Adele Goldberg) | Because Language Get more from Because Language on Patreon

We're pleased as punch to publish this episode with the incredible @adelegoldberg.bsky.social‬. What can we learn about human language from LLMs?

Part language tech, and part Constructionist deep dive.
We learned so much. Check it out in all the places.

www.patreon.com/posts/132671...

sounds like a normal tuesday wednesday, or thursday around here

occasionally give it the ol' double Oxford reverse comma

which is: use the Oxford comma in a list, but none of the other ones

follow us for more grammar tips

When marking exams, be sure to count the ones you have finished. This will give you a feeling of accomplishment.
Count and recount the booklets often. This is a good use of your time.

The Battle to Save the Uyghur Language From Extinction: China’s Plan to Erase a Civilization Uyghur Language Day matters, not just as celebration, but as defiance of the attempt to extinguish our civilization.

🎉 Today is Uyghur #Language Day: not just a celebration, but also a defiance of China's attempt to extinguish the #Uyghur civilization
thediplomat.com/2025/06/the-...
via @thediplomat.com
(H/T @becauselanguage.com)

Today is Uyghur Language Day.
I once had the honour of talking with Uyghur language advocate Abduweli Ayup, who was imprisoned for his work by the Chinese government.
That’s here, from 37:36.

becauselanguage.com/101-talkin-c...

Roses are red
"Sheep" has a digraph
More people have been
To Moscow than I have

Roses are orange
Violets are blue
Lucky this form
Only rhymes at line two

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Scansion: it matters
Rhyming does too

Worth a read, worth a listen!

120: Gesture! ✨👐✨ (with Lauren Gawne) | Because Language Get more from Because Language on Patreon

New ✨episode✨ with Lauren Gawne @superlinguo.bsky.social
about her new book "Gesture: A slim guide"
We're talking about all the gestures, but we delve into emoji, and we're even on video!

Find it all here, or in your favourite podcatcher
www.patreon.com/posts/120-ge...

@lingthusiasm.bsky.social

Can't wait to participate in this live lecture-performance. Creative Time is turning conversation into music and art, and we'll be looking at how we gather meaning out of noises, hesitations, and silences.

hq.creativetime.org/calendar/oh/

I have tried to feel pronotled, but I have always been disappoofed.

As soon as Faizan Zaki heard what would become his winning word at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, his eyes lit up.

Without hesitation, Faizan spelled éclaircissement, pretending to type each letter on an imaginary keyboard with signature confidence. wapo.st/3ZIvqj0

Don't worry; I am taking up the slack

119: Eurovision Goes to Uni (with Paulette van der Voet and Solveig Bollig) | Because Language Get more from Because Language on Patreon

New ep: @eurovision.tv has a lot to teach us about language.
So much that there's a unit at
@umeauniversitet.bsky.social about it!
And we're talking to coordinators Paulette van der Voet and Solveig Bollig.

Wherever you get podcasts.
#Eurovision2025

www.patreon.com/posts/129228...