I Speak Your Language explores how language shapes our lives. Host Kadi, a linguist & poet, talks to experts, artists and communities to unpack how language shapes our daily lives and identities. The podcast is a space to recognise and reflect on the barriers that shape how we communicate, and how we navigate them. Tune in every Thursday and join the community! Thanks to KU Leuven for their support.
© Original music. All rights reserved.
I Speak Your Language explores how language shapes our lives. Host Kadi, a linguist & poet, talks to experts, artists and communities to unpack how language shapes our daily lives and identities. The podcast is a space to recognise and reflect on the barriers that shape how we communicate, and how we navigate them. Tune in every Thursday and join the community! Thanks to KU Leuven for their support.
© Original music. All rights reserved.
In this special episode of I Speak Your Language, produced in celebration of and collaboration with Leeds City of Languages, Kadi is joined by Dr. Sofia Martinho, Associate Professor in Portuguese, and Dr. Bettina Hermoso Gómez, Associate Professor in Spanish, both from the University of Leeds and co-founders of the festival. Together, Sofia and Bettina share how the festival was born, how it brings communities together, and why celebrating linguistic diversity matters more than ever.
Taking place from 10–24 November 2025, Leeds City of Languages is a two-week celebration of the 170+ languages spoken across the city, showcasing the linguistic and cultural richness of Leeds through concerts, poetry, language tasters, workshops, and community-led events. What began as a local initiative during Leeds 2023 has now grown into a regional festival connecting schools, libraries, cultural institutions, and grassroots organisations across Yorkshire.
Find more details on how to take part here:
@leedscityoflanguages
In this episode, Kadi speaks with poet and performer Amina Atiq about memory, radical joy, and what it means to create from a place of both inheritance and imagination. They reflect on diasporic storytelling, healing through art, and how to reframe the burden of representation into power and presence.
Amina Atiq is a Yemeni-British poet, artist and activist from Liverpool. Her work explores migration, archives, grief, and belonging through oral storytelling, performance, and education. She is the creator of Unheard Voices, Scouse Pilgrimage, and other nationally recognised projects.
You can check out Amina’s work at www.aminaatiq.org.
In this special episode, Kadi speaks with Sven Gatz, Brussels Minister for Multilingualism, about what it means to build language policy in one of the world’s most multilingual cities. They explore how Brussels is navigating official languages, community languages, and everything in between, and why embracing the mother tongues of residents matters.
Sven Gatz served as the first-ever Minister for Multilingualism in Brussels, leading efforts to create a more inclusive and forward-looking language policy. His work focuses on promoting multilingual visibility, encouraging grassroots engagement, and recognising the everyday realities of a city where no single language group is in the majority.
You can learn more about multilingual initiatives in Brussels and Minister Gatz’s work here: https://svengatz.prezly.com/en/category/multilingualism
In this episode, linguist Dr. Lauren Gawne joins Kadi to explore how gestures shape the way we communicate, often without us even realising it. From metaphors you can see with your hands, to cultural differences in pointing, this conversation unpacks the subtle, powerful role of our bodies in everyday communication.
Dr. Lauren Gawne is a senior lecturer at La Trobe University, cohost of the Lingthusiasm podcast, and author of Gesture: A Slim Guide, a sharp and accessible introduction to how gesture works in daily life.
What happens when life-changing information is written in a way no one understands?
In this episode, Kadija speaks with Dr. Deborah Bosley, an internationally recognised expert in plain language, former tenured professor of technical communication, and founder of The Plain Language Group, which advises Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and universities on clear communication.
They talk about how plain language saves lives, reduces misunderstanding, supports multilingual communities, and helps people make informed decisions.
This episode is accompanied by a blog series from our partner Living Stone – make your mark, exploring why clear words matter: https://blog.livingstone.eu/nl/plain-language-why-clear-words-matter
Why do we all have an accent? And why do some people face bias because of theirs? Sociolinguist Prof. Rob Drummond joins Kadija to explore how accents shape our identities, signal belonging, and carry stereotypes we rarely question. Together, they unpack what “accentism” looks like and why embracing linguistic diversity is not just fair, but essential.
Prof. Rob Drummond is Professor of Sociolinguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University and author of You’re All Talk: Why We Are What We Speak. He is a regular commentator on language and identity across BBC Radio, TV, and international media.