A show about language, linguistics and people who love both!
A Language I Love Is... (ALILI) broadcasts linguistic joy and shares expert insights into the languages of the world. It's a simple formula: one host, one guest, one language, and three key questions:
1) What is your story and connection to this language?
2) What do you love about this language?
3) What is something you want the audience to know about this language?
Through informative interviews and casual conversations, ALILI fulfills its mission: to share the linguistic love with all.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A show about language, linguistics and people who love both!
A Language I Love Is... (ALILI) broadcasts linguistic joy and shares expert insights into the languages of the world. It's a simple formula: one host, one guest, one language, and three key questions:
1) What is your story and connection to this language?
2) What do you love about this language?
3) What is something you want the audience to know about this language?
Through informative interviews and casual conversations, ALILI fulfills its mission: to share the linguistic love with all.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hot on the heels of Episode 40 (American Sign Language with Aidan Elliott-McCrea), I can release a special episode of ALILI, showcasing the audio edition of my new book! 'Why Q Needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them' was published on October 2nd, before which I undertook both its writing and its narrating as an audiobook. For this special, I've been given the first chapter of that audiobook (Chapter A) to share with you. It kicks off the story of the alphabet in Egypt, then takes you as far as the islands of Greece. The full audiobook is widely available on popular platforms like Spotify and Audible. If you give it a listen, do let me know!
Official link to the book here: https://geni.us/WhyQNeedsU
More info and reviews here: https://dannybate.com/book/
Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs
Host: Dr. Danny Bate
Music: Acoustic Guitar by William King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The ALILI podcast has reached forty episodes! As a fitting start to this fourth decade of language love, we have a first for the show: its first sign language. It was a privilege for me to talk to Aidan Elliott-McCrea, an expert linguist and online etymologist (through Word Family Friday), about not just American Sign Language but sign languages in general. Our conversation begins with addressing misconceptions about sign languages (there isn't just one!), and moves on to the features of ASL that Aidan particularly likes.
Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs
Aidan's etymological website: https://www.aidanem.com/pages/word-families-overview.html
Aidan's own Patreon: https://patreon.com/aidanem
Aidan's recommendations for reading:
Host: Dr. Danny Bate
Guest: Aidan Elliott-McCrea
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Acoustic Guitar by William King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 39 is a return to Scotland! After Scots, way back at the start of the whole podcast, this next journey into Scottish speech explores Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig), the Insular Celtic language that's for centuries played a big part in the country's history, ever since it first arrived from Ireland. It was the choice of my guest, the linguist David Adger, who knows the language well and refers to it often in his research into the nature of word order. David and I discuss the medieval and modern story of Scottish Gaelic, as well as a globally unusual aspect of its syntax.
Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs
David's personal website: https://davidadger.org/
Clip of Rosemary speaking Scottish Gaelic taken from here: https://wikitongues.org/videos/rosemary_20150113_gla/
Website for the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig here: https://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/?lang=en
Host: Dr. Danny Bate
Guest: Prof. David Adger
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Acoustic Guitar by William King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
At last, dear language lovers, Episode 38 is here. To make up for my podcasting tardiness, this episode stars not just one language, but rather a whole group of them! Following Akkadian in Series 1 and Biblical Hebrew in Series 2, I'm glad to offer you another audio trip into ancient Semitic languages. Old (or Ancient or Epigraphic) South Arabian languages were the choice of Dr. Imar Koutchoukali, a scholar who has long been fascinated by the ancient history of Arabia. In our chat, Imar introduces this now-lost linguistic group – at one time vibrant and influential in the region. Included among them is the language of the Queen of Sheba herself!
Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs
Imar's academia.edu page: https://univie.academia.edu/ImarKoutchoukali
Host: Dr. Danny Bate
Guest: Dr. Imar Koutchoukali
Music: Acoustic Guitar by William King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 37's star language is another 'proto'-tongue, arguably the most famous of all reconstructed prehistoric languages: Proto-Indo-European. This ancient language, whose linguistic descendants can now be found across the world, has long been the goal of an intellectual quest.
The task of identifying the facts of PIE began in the realms of philology and linguistics, but archaeology and genetics have since contributed much to our understanding. Bringing together the insights of those three fields was the goal of my guest, the science journalist and writer Laura Spinney, and her book Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global is now available to buy, read and enjoy! Laura joins me to discuss the motivations and goals behind Proto and what exactly drew her to research and write about this strange language from along ago.
Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs
Laura's website: https://www.lauraspinney.com/
Clip of reconstructed Dragon Slaying Myth in Proto-Indo-European (reconstruction by Andrew M. Byrd and Riccardo Ginevra, voice by Phill Barnett) taken with permission from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1SXeSHY9p0
Host: Dr. Danny Bate
Guest: Laura Spinney
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Acoustic Guitar by William King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Bouônjour! Join me on a journey to Jersey, an island off the coast of France, where for centuries the local language of Jèrriais has kept up its role in the life of the Islanders, despite considerable pressure from linguistic heavyweights in the area (first French, later English). My guest for episode 36 of ALILI is Geraint Jennings, a language teacher, translator and lover of Jèrriais, who was the ideal person to present the history of Jersey and the status of Jèrriais today. We discuss where Jèrriais comes from, how it's faring in the modern world, and what makes it distinct from French on the mainland. Both my guest and this episode's beloved language are sure to leave you entchéthaûdé!
Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs
Start your own Jèrriais journey here at the page for the L’Office Du Jèrriais: https://www.jerriais.org.je/
Clip of Jèrriais by Geraint taken from the L’Office Du Jèrriais SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/jerriais
Host: Dr. Danny Bate
Guest: Geraint Jennings
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Acoustic Guitar by William King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 35 of ALILI is a new part of the world and a new language family: West Africa, and Niger-Congo! Our way into this corner of the linguistic world is Dza (also known as Jenjo or just Jen), an endangered language spoken in Nigeria. My guest is Peace Benson, who is actively working to spread awareness of her native language through academic research and infectious enthusiasm. We discuss all sorts of Dza-related topics, from its distinctive vowels to the sociolinguistic situation of Nigeria. Stay tuned to the end for some Swahili content from me.
Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs
Clip of Dza (Jenjo) supplied by Peace.
Host: Dr. Danny Bate
Guest: Peace Benson
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Acoustic Guitar by William King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 34 is a trip to Indonesia, specifically to the small island of Ternate. Don't let the island's size fool you though – it has a rich and complex history, which this episode explores through the Ternate language. This was the choice of my guest, PhD researcher Maria Zielenbach, who introduces Ternate's history, sounds, lexicon and complicated family situation. You may be surprised to hear how Ternate word formation works a little bit like Welsh and Irish...
Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs
Maria's academic blog: https://halmahera.hypotheses.org/
Maria's recent book chapter about Dutch influence in Ternate: https://www.benjamins.com/catalog/impact.55.12sch
Host: Dr. Danny Bate
Guest: Maria Zielenbach
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Acoustic Guitar by William King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Now here's a first for the podcast: its first conlang! Na'vi, the language created for the Avatar films, was the choice of Stefan Mir-Mackiewicz, a language enthusiast who plays a role in shaping this constructed language. We discussed the origins of Na'vi, its sources of inspiration, its sounds and grammar, and the community that continues to develop it. Some language history and 'Proto-Na'vi' even get a mention!
Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs
Start your own journey into Na'vi here:
- https://www.youtube.com/@HTML_Rrta
Content note from Stefan: it's a common misunderstanding that Paul Frommer inspired directly by Polynesian languages; rather, the original words he was given by James Cameron had a "Polynesian flavour".
Host: Dr. Danny Bate
Guest: Stefan Mir-Mackiewicz (screen name: HTML_'Rrta)
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Acoustic Guitar by William King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Series 3 continues with another prominent public-facing linguist, only this time we're travelling back in time, to Ancient Rome! My guest is Luke Ranieri, a linguist, a language teacher and the YouTuber behind the popular platforms polýMATHY and ScorpioMartianus.
Luke took a break from activities as diverse as teaching for The Ancient Language Institute, speaking Latin on Vatican Radio, and flying helicopters, to talk to me about the Latin language – and what was so good about the era of Caesar and Cicero that their language deserved to be called 'classical'.
Join the ALILI Patreon here: patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs
Check out Luke's personal website here: https://lukeranieri.com/
Host: Dr. Danny Bate
Guest: Luke Ranieri
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Acoustic Guitar by William King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We're back! The first episode of an all-new series of the language-loving podcast is here at last.
Since one of the co-stars of the hit podcast Lingthusiasm concluded the second series, it seemed only right that the other co-star should kick off the third. Gretchen McCulloch – linguist, podcaster and author of Because Internet – joins me to navigate the linguistic complexities of Canada, specifically in the city of Montreal.
This episode is part sociolinguistic survey, part survival guide for how to speak in Quebec, and Gretchen expertly and warmly takes us through Canadian bilingualism and her own experiences and perspectives of it.
Join the ALILI Patreon here: patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs
Gretchen's personal website: https://gretchenmcculloch.com/
Lingthusiasm's website: https://lingthusiasm.com/
Host: Dr. Danny Bate
Guest: Gretchen McCulloch
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Acoustic Guitar by William King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hello there, dear language lovers! After a couple of months, I'm pleased to say that I'm getting back into the swing of linguistic podcasting, and that means that A Language I Love Is... will soon be returning!
While I get the first few episodes ready for airing, here's a teaser for the third series of the show, featuring some expert voices that you can look forward to, as well as some additional annoucements from me.
For fans and subscribers of the show, I'd like to express sincere thanks for bearing with me during this inter-series hiatus. Speak to you soon!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
ALILI has reached episode 30 and the end of two whole series! To mark the occasion, the show has the privilege to host a star of public linguistics, Dr. Lauren Gawne, one of the two fabulous co-hosts of the hit podcast Lingthusiasm. Lauren is here to lead the show into a new part of the world and a new language family, namely Yolmo, a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Nepal. Lauren takes us through the modern state of the language, her profound connection to it, and the grammatical phenomenon of evidentiality.
Enter the word of Lingthusiasm here: https://lingthusiasm.com/
Lauren's personal website: https://laurengawne.com/
Host: Dr. Danny Bate
Guest: Dr. Lauren Gawne
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Bossa Nova by William_King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 29 is here at last, and a certain language is making a repeat appearance, but introduced by a new linguistic lover – what does Colin Gorrie have to say about Old English? We chat the basics of Old English and what makes it so 'old', before getting into how Colin teaches the language, and why he recommends it as a springboard for further linguistic adventures.
Find the details about the brilliant new Osweald Bera book here: https://ancientlanguage.com/osweald-bera/
Check out and subscribe to Colin's substack: https://colingorrie.substack.com/
And don't forget to subscribe to A Language I Love Is...!
Host: Dr Danny Bate
Guest: Dr Colin Gorrie
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Bossa Nova by William_King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dydh da! Episode 28 of ALILI is here, and Daniel Prohaska joins me to discuss Cornish! This Celtic language has a long and fascinating history, stretching back to Roman Britain. It's a story not only of slow decline, but also of resurrection. Daniel was the ideal expert to introduce it, being involved in modern efforts to revitalise and popularise Cornish for the twenty-first century.
Daniel's professional website: https://www.ryan-prohaska.com/
Daniel's Cornish website: https://kernowekbew.com/
Daniel's audio Cornish course: https://www.kernewegva.com/deskikernowek.html
Host: Dr Danny Bate
Guest: Daniel Prohaska
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Bossa Nova by William_King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Time for Episode 27 and a return to the Slavic languages! Unsurprisingly, Croatian is a Slavic language widely spoken in the modern-day country of Croatia, but did you know that it has many speakers in eastern Austria too? Burgenland Croatian is the starring language of this episode, beloved and chosen by Dr Katharina Tyran. As one of its native speakers and researchers, Katharina is the ideal person to introduce the past, present and future of this minority language.
Katharina's University of Vienna page: https://slawistik.univie.ac.at/personen/person/user/tyrank65/inum/1079/backpid/12319/
Listen to Katharina podcasting in Burgenland Croatian here: https://www.hrvatskicentar.at/de/centar-podcast
Sample of spoken Burgenland Croatian from here: https://pangloss.cnrs.fr/corpus/Croate%20du%20Burgenland?lang=en&mode=pro
Host: Dr Danny Bate
Guest: Dr Katharina Tyran
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Bossa Nova by William_King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 26 is a first for the show: a language so old that it's theoretical! This time, ALILI is discussing the whole Germanic language family, from English to Icelandic, since this episode's starring language is the family's common ancestor: Proto-Germanic. This prehistoric point of origin is the choice of my guest, Yoïn van Spijk, expert etymologist and Dutch dialectologist. Thanks to him, I get to chat linguistic reconstruction, language change and some underappreciated Finnish connections.
Go check out more from Yoïn!
Yoïn's website: https://taalaandewandel.com/
Yoïn's Twitter: https://x.com/yvanspijk
Yoïn's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/yvanspijk
Host: Danny Bate
Guest: Yoïn van Spijk
Audio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPadden
Music: Bossa Nova by William_King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 25 is here and it's a return to the Finno-Ugric languages with expert linguist Daria Zhornik. The particular member of Finno-Ugric is Mansi (specifically Northern Mansi), spoken in two regions of Russia. Daria both documents and researches this language, and so is full of good information about its history, genealogy, current status, future, and its speakers' very particular and periphrastic ways of talking about animals...
Check out Daria's website here: https://dariazhornik.github.io
Host: Danny Bate
Guest: Daria Zhornik
Music: Bossa Nova by William_King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 24 of ALILI is a return to India, this time to dive into Marathi, the official langauge of the state of Maharashtra and India's third-largest language. My guest is Manish Goregaokar, a software engineer and a real expert on language and writing. We discussed history, geography, society, phonology and vocabulary, as well as Manish's personal experience of speaking Marathi alongside other languages.
Manish's Twitter: https://x.com/ManishEarth
Sample of spoken Marathi from here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ChitpavaniMarathi.wav
Host: Danny Bate
Guest: Manish Goregaokar
Music: Bossa Nova by William_King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This is an episode of ALILI with a twist, as Dr Jackson Crawford, YouTube's charming Old Norse expert, had me back on his channel to chat syntax, old languages and public linguistics. Chatting to him and his Patreon supporters was a real treat for me, both to share the ideas of my recent PhD work, and to get his perspective on the state and future of linguistics online. I hope you enjoy these excerpts from our chat!
Jackson's stellar YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@JacksonCrawford
Jackson's Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/norsebysw
Host: Dr Jackson Crawford
Guest: Danny Bate
Music: Bossa Nova by William_King
Artwork: William Marler
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.