#reminder: Its Gonna Be Alright ❤

There this french radio station called FIP that in addition to being a great radio station has different webradios each dedicated to one musical genre. AND they've created a new one called "Sacré Français !" that only plays songs in french, and not just from France but from the whole francophone world! They are pretty eclectic in their choices and I thought it could interest some of you if you're looking for new artists to add to your language playlists :)

You can listen here or in the Radio France app.

PS: the webradios are music only, there's no talking. But I definitely recommend listening to the regular FIP station if you want small doses of listening practice, they do speak in a relaxed way!

No drama. Just vibes. Anyone causing my body to react with anxiety is blocked

Protecting my nervous system all 2023 and beyond

#LearningEnglish #sstellestudiess 1

so weird how in english some words are really just used in expressions and not otherwise… like has anyone said “havoc” when not using it in the phrase “wreaking havoc”? same goes for “wreaking” actually…

reply with more, i’m fascinated

i love you physical media ❤️ i love you cds ❤️ i love you vinyl ❤️ i love you cassettes ❤️ i love you dvds ❤️ i love you blurays ❤️ i love you paperback books ❤️ i love you comics ❤️

Linguistics and Language Podcasts

Looking for podcasts about language and linguistics? Here’s a comprehensive list with descriptions! I’ve also mentioned if shows have transcripts. If there are any I missed, let me know!

Linguistics

Lingthusiasm A podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne (that’s me!). Main episodes every third Thursday of every month, with a second bonus episode on Patreon. (Transcripts for all episodes)

Because Language Every week Daniel, Ben, and Hedvig cover the news in linguistics and tackle a particular topic. (previously Talk the Talk) (Transcripts for all episodes after release)

The Vocal Fries Every episode Carrie Gillon & Megan Figueroa tackle linguistic discrimination in relation to a particular group. (Transcripts for some episodes)

En Clair A podcast about forensic linguistics from Dr Claire Hardaker at Lancaster University. Episodes released monthly, with a range of topics from criminal cases to literary fraud. (Transcripts for all episodes)

Accentricity From Sadie Durkacz Ryan, a lecturer in sociolinguistics at Glasgow University. Season one has six episodes.

Field Notes Martha Tsutsui Billins interviews linguists about their linguistic fieldwork. (Transcripts for all episodes)

History and Philosophy of the Language Sciences sub-30 minute episodes about the history of linguistics from James McElvenny, with the occasional interviews.

The Language Revolution Changing UK attitudes to languages.

Lexis A conversation about linguistics with a topical UK focus, from Matthew Butler, Lisa Casey, Dan Clayton and Jacky Glancey.

Kletshead A podcast about bilingual children for parents, teachers and speech language therapists from Dr. Sharon Unsworth. Also in Dutch.

Linguistics Lounge A podcast about language and discourse with Tony Fisher and Julia de Bres. Transcripts for all episodes.

CorpusCast from Dr Robbie Love, available alongside other shows in the Aston University podcast feed or in video format.

Life and Language Michaela Mahlberg chats with her guests about life and why language matters.

Toksave – Culture Talks A podcast from the PARADISEC Archive, where the archived records of the past have life breathed back into them once again.

Theory Neutral Covering typology and descriptive grammars with Logan R Kearsley.

PhonPod Podcast Interview-based podcast about phonetics and phonology.

Linguistics Careercast A podcast devoted to exploring careers for linguists outside academia.

Language

The Allusionist Stories about language and the people who use it, from Helen Zaltzman (Transcripts for all episodes) (my review).

Grammar Girl Episodes are rarely longer than 15 minutes, but they’re full of tips about English grammar and style for professional writing, and more! (Transcripts for all episodes).

A Language I Love Is… A show about language, linguistics and people who love both. An interview-based podcast hosted by Danny Bate.

Word of Mouth BBC Radio 4 show exploring the world of words with Michael Rosen.

America the Bilingual Dedicated to the pursuit of bilingualism in the USA.

Words & Actions A podcast about how language matters in business, politics and beyond.

Subtitle A podcast about languages and the people who speak them, from Patrick Cox and Kavita Pillay. For those who miss Patrick’s old podcast, The World in Words.

The Parlé Podcast from Canadian Speech-Language Pathologist Chantal Mayer-Crittenden.

Slavstvuyte! A podcast for everyone who is fascinated by Slavic languages from Dina Stankovic.

Subtext A podcast about the linguistics of online dating.

Conlangs

Conlangery Particularly for those with an interest in constructed  languages, they also have episodes that focus on specific natural  languages, or linguistic phenomena. Newer episodes have transcripts.

Linguitect Matt, Rowan and Liam explain linguistic topics and talk about how to build them into your conlang.

Dictionaries

Word For Word From Macquarie dictionary, with a focus on Australian English.

Fiat Lex A podcast about making dictionaries from Kory Stamper & Steve Kleinedler. One season.

Word Matters From the editors at Merriam-Webster, hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski. 

English

Unstandardized English Interview-based podcast. Disrupting the language of racism and white supremacy in English Language Teaching.

History of English Meticulously researched, professionally produced and engaging content on the history of English. (My reviews: episodes 1-4, episodes 5-79, bonus episodes).

Lexicon Valley Hosted by John McWhorter.

That’s What They Say Every week linguist Anne Curzan joins Rebecca Kruth on Michigan public radio for a five minute piece on a quirk of English language.

A Way With Words A talk-back format show on the history of English words, cryptic crosswords and slang.

Words/etymology

Something Rhymes With Purple Susie Dent and Gyles Brandreth uncover the hidden origins of language and share their love of words.

Telling our Twisted Histories Kaniehti:io Horn brings us together to decolonize our minds– one word, one concept, one story at a time.

Word Bomb Hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta explore one word per week, using particular words for a deep dive into linguistic and social issues. (Transcripts for all episodes)

Words for Granted In each episode Ray Belli explores the history of a common English word in around fifteen minutes.

Lexitecture Ryan, a Canadian, and Amy, a Scot share their chosen word each episode.

Bunny Trails Shauna and Dan discuss idioms and other turns of phrase.

Translation

Troublesome Terps The podcast about the things that keep interpreters up at night. See also back episodes of Alexander Drechsel’s old podcast LangFM.

In Languages other than English

Parler Comme Jamais A French language podcast from Binge Audio.Monthly episodes from Laélia Véron.

Sozusagen A German language podcast of weekly 10 minute episodes.

Språket A Swedish language podcast from Sveriges Radio about language use and change.

Språktalk A Norwegian language podcast with Helene Uri and Kristin Storrusten from Aftenposten.

Klog på sprog A Danish language podcast that playfully explores the Danish language.

Kletshead A Dutch language podcast about bilingual children for parents, teachers and speech language therapists from Dr. Sharon Unsworth. Also in English.

BabelPodcast A Portuguese language podcast from Brazil, hosted by Cecilia Farias and Gruno.

War of Words A Spanish language podcast about linguistics from Juana de los Santos, Ángela Rodríguez, Néstor Bermúdez and Antonella Moschetti.

Con la lengua fuera A Spanish language podcast from Macarena Gil y Nerea Fernández de Gobeo.

Hablando mal y pronto A Spanish language conversational podcast from Santiago, Juan and Magui.

Back Catalogue

These are podcasts that had a good run of episodes and are no longer being produced.

Spectacular Vernacular A podcast that explores language … and plays with it Hosted by Nicole Holliday and Ben Zimmer for Slate. Transcripts available. 19 episodes from 2021 and 2022.

Science Diction a podcast about words—and the science stories behind them. Hosted by Johanna Mayer, this is a production from WNYC Science Friday. 42 episodes from 2020-2022.

The World in Words From PRI (2008-2019)

How Brands are Build (season 1 of this show focuses on brand naming)

Very Bad Words A  podcast about swearing and our cultural relationship to it. 42 episodes from 2017 and 2018.

The Endless Knot is not strictly a language podcast, but they often include word histories, linguistics podcast fans episode may find their colour series particularly interesting.

Given Names (four part radio series from 2015, all about names. My review)

Odds & Ends

There are also a number of podcasts that have only a few episodes, are no longer being made, or are very academic in their focus:

The Black Language Podcast Anansa Benbow brings you a podcast dedicated to talking about Black people and their languages. Five episodes from 2020.

Speculative Grammarian Podcast (from the magazine of the same name, about 50 episodes from Dec 2009-Jan 2017)

Linguistics Podcast (on YouTube, around 20 episodes in 2013 introducing basic linguistic concepts)

Evolving English: Linguistics at the Library (8 episodes 2018), from the British Library.

Language Creation Society Podcast (8 episodes, 2009-2011)

LingLab (very occasionally updated podcast from graduate students in the Sociolinguistics program at NC State University)

Hooked on Phonetics five episodes from Maxwell Hope from 2019 and 2020.

Glossonomia Each episode is about a different vowel or consonant sound in English. 44 episodes from 2010-2014.

Distributed Morphs An interview-based podcast about morphology, from Jeffrey Punske. Eight episodes in 2020.

Word to the Whys a podcast where linguists talk about why they do linguistics. Created by TILCoP Canada (Teaching Intro Linguistics Community of Practice). 10 episodes in 2020 and 2021.

The Weekly Linguist An  interview podcast about the languages of the world and the linguists who study them from Jarrette Allen and Lisa Sprowls. 21 episodes in 2021.

Silly Linguistics (ad hoc episode posting, but episode 7 is an interview with Kevin Stroud for History of English fans)

Linguistics After Dark Eli, Sarah and Jenny answer your linguistics questions in hour-ish long episodes.

WACC Podcast (guest lectures at Warwick Applied Linguistics)

Sage Language and Linguistics

Let’s Talk Talk

Queer Linguistics has a couple of episodes, with a bit of classroom vibe

GradLings An occasionally-updated podcast for linguistics students at any stage of study, to share their stories and experiences.

Canguro English A podcast about language for people learning languages. 103 episodes from 2018-2021.

Why is English? A podcast about how the English language got to be the way it is, from Laura Brandt. Seven episodes from 2020 and 2021. 

Animology Vegan blogger Colleen Patrick Goudreau uses her love of animals as a starting point for exploring animal-related etymologies. 27 episodes from 2017-2020.

Wordy Wordpecker Short weekly episodes from Rachel Lopez, charting the stories of English words. 14 episodes from 2018.

Speaking of Translation A monthly podcast from Eve Bodeux & Corinne McKay. 10 episodes from 2020-2021.

Se Ve Se Escucha (Seen and Heard) Language justice and what it means to be an interpreter, an organizer and bilingual in the US South, from the Center for Participatory Change. Episodes from 2020.

This is an updated listing from October 2023. I’m always excited to be able to add more podcasts to the list, so if you know of any linguistics/language podcasts not here, please let me know! I wait until a show has at least 3 episodes before I add it to the list, and I like to let people know when transcripts are available.

100 Goals you can have as a language learner

A follower of mine asked me what are some realistic goals when you’re learning languages but before giving you 100 examples, i want to mention that you can have daily, weekly, monthly or/and yearly goals. If you get easily distracted and need motivation, set goals for each category; however, if you can focus and be motivated for a longer period of time, you might not need daily or/and weekly goals.

Also, the numbers/minutes/hours are an example, you can change them according to your time, resources, motivation etc.

Daily goals

Read 1 article in your target language.

Learn 10 words.

Learn 1 poem in your target language.

Learn a song  in your target language.

Watch a movie.

Read 1 page from a book in your target language.

Sing 1 song in your target language.

Talk with a native for 10 minutes.

Learn 2 idioms.

Translate 1 song.

Translate 1 poem.

Write 1 short text about anything.

Watch 1 episode from your favourite show dubbed/subbed.

Get 50points on duolingo.

Make a vocab list.

Learn 1 new grammatical concept.

Think in your target language for 10 minutes

Read to a podcast for 15 minutes.

Learn 1 tongue twister.

Spend 15 minutes on WordBrewery.

Play on Babadum for 15 minutes.

Use Clozemaster for 15 minutes.

Listen to an audio book for 10 minutes.

Revise your notes for 20 minutes.

Learn 1 vocab list.

Weekly

Read 10 articles in your target language.

Read 2 books for children.

Learn 5 poems.

Learn 3 songs.

Watch 3 movies.

Learn 10 grammatical concepts.

Talk for 2 hours in your target language.

Learn 5 vocab lists.

Learn 100 new words.

Finish 8 lessons on duolingo. (i mean the entire bullet/dot/set of mini-lessons)

Watch 10 episodes from your favourite show  in your target language subbed/dubbed.

Learn 30 idioms.

Write 3 A4 pages about anything.

Translate 5 songs.

Learn 3 vocab lists.

Revise with the help of some tests online for 2 hours.

Change your phone settings to be in your target language.

Make a summary for the books you’ve read.

Read 10 pages from a complex book in your target language. 

Make 5 vocab lists.

Write a motivation text of 10 lines for your in your target language about why you enjoy learning languages.

Think for 2 hours in your target language.

Translate 3 pages from a book in your native language.

Translate 3 pages from a book in your target language.

Discover 10 new songs in your target language.

Monthly

Learn 350 new words.

Read 1 advanced book in your target language.

Finish a grammar book.

Finish 10 stories for kids.

Learn 80 idioms.

Learn 20 vocab lists.

Finish 35 lessons on duolingo. (the bullets/dots/set of mini lessons)

Make 20 vocab lists.

Watch 10 movies in your target language subbed/dubbed.

Translate 10 songs.

Learn 10 poems.

Learn 5 songs.

Talk to natives for 10 hours. 

Write summaries for every chapter/article you’ve read.

Watch 15 youtube videos in your target language .

Make a story of 5 minutes while looking at a random picture on google.

Understand a song (that you don’t know) without checking the lyrics too often.

Read 20 articles.

Make a dish while reading the recipe in your target language

Revise for 20 hours.

Keep a journal with your daily progress and at the end of the month, read how many things you achieved.

Read to a podcast for 24 hours.

Think in your target language for 24 hours.

Play babadum/wordbrewery/clozemaster for 10 hours.

Yearly

Be mistaken for a native.

Know 50 poems.

Be able to sing most Disney songs in your target language.

Watch movies without subs.

Learn 10.000 words.

Read 10 advanced books.

Finish duolingo/whatever course you use.

Be able to think in your target language effortlessly.

Master irregular verbs.

Have at least 5 native friends that talk to you in your target language.

Be proud you didn’t give up.

Study a bit daily.

Finish 3 grammar books/workbooks/books for advanced learners.

Have a decent accent.

Be able to read without translating anything.

Watch more movies in your target language than your native one/English.

Have favourite youtubers that are native of your target language.

Keep a diary and read how your year has been.

Be able to talk about advanced stuff.

Have very detailed descriptions.

Know the most popular songs in your target language.

Read mostly in your target language.

Know several new recipes that cooked only in the country where your target language is spoken.

Being able to say that you’re bilingual/multilingual/a polyglot.

Learn your next language through the one that you mastered already.

#michi

Since it’s Spotify Wrapped season I thought I’d share this reminder that streaming services are killing the music industry. Musicians can’t make a living like this. If you love an artist, find them on Bandcamp and actually buy their albums.

Please sign this petition. Almost all of the 500k books that they removed are actually no longer in print and inaccessible to many.

The publishers did not care about those books in the first place but they did this anyway because they have vendetta against open access.