Speculative Grammarian Podcast

The Collected Wisdom of Linguists, Part Β; by The SpecGram Council of Sages; From Volume CLXIV, Number 2, of Speculative Grammarian, March 2012. — In this second of three installments, we share with you the proverbial wisdom of ancient sages of philology and linguistics, honed and refined through the ages by the folk wisdom and common sense of the masses. Should you sense a contradiction, recall also that “Proverbs run in pairs.” (Read by Jonathan van der Meer.)

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XIII — The SpecGram LingNerds are joined by guest Gabe Olsen for some Lies, Damned Lies, and Linguistics. They also discuss chimpanzee gestures and the shutter-upper gun, and indulge in more Prescriptivist Confessions.

The Collected Wisdom of Linguists, Part Α; by The SpecGram Council of Sages; From Volume CLXIV, Number 1, of Speculative Grammarian, February 2012. — In this first of three installments, we share with you the proverbial wisdom of ancient sages of philology and linguistics, honed and refined through the ages by the folk wisdom and common sense of the masses. Should you sense a contradiction, recall also that “Proverbs run in pairs.” (Read by Jonathan van der Meer.)

Spaghetti or Lasagna for Linguists; by The LSA Committee on Comestibles in Linguistics; From Volume CLXIII, Number 2, of Speculative Grammarian, November 2011. — In order to understand various types of linguists better, we conducted a controlled experiment. Very simply, we asked each linguist “Do you want spaghetti or lasagna for dinner?” We think the replies we got are instructive, and so we are sharing them with you. (Read by Elliott Hoey.)

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XII — The SpecGram LingNerds discuss goat and other mammalian accents, and liberal vs. conservative linguistics. They also investigate more Lies, Damned Lies, and Linguistics with repeat guest Sheri Wells-Jensen, and have another visit with Mr. Linguist.

Ph.D. Qualifying Examination for Linguistics (2009); by Saudade Gezellig; From Collateral Descendant of Lingua Pranca, October 2009. — Historical & Comparative Linguistics ... Computational Syntax ... Sociolinguistic Semantics ... Documentary Linguistics (Read by Trey Jones.)

Ph.D. Qualifying Examination for Linguistics (1978); by Keith Mountford; From Lingua Pranca, June 1978. — Historical ... Theoretical (Read by Trey Jones.)

Gavagai with Peppers; by Rob van der Sandt; From Volume CL, Number 3, of Speculative Grammarian, July 2005. — Many tasty gavagai recipes were brought from the jungle by linguists and missionaries in the first half of the 20th century. After the publication of Quine’s Word and Object they gained popularity among philosophers, though the book’s underlying idea was soon attacked from linguistic circles. As an unfortunate consequence, gavagai recipes emanating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tend to be inedible. (Read by Jonathan van der Meer.)

Language Acquisition Device Found; by R. Davis; From Volume CLI, Number 2, of Speculative Grammarian, April 2006. — At a recent press conference in Istanbul Prof. I. Jones, chief on-site archeologist at an excavation of an Upper Paleolithic site in central Turkey, made an announcement that stunned the linguistics community: a language acquisition device, or “LAD” has been found. (Read by Trey Jones.)

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XI — The SpecGram LingNerds discuss how vowels control your brain, and whether toddlers listen to themselves, or are just stupid. They also investigate more Lies, Damned Lies, and Linguistics with guest Sheri Wells-Jensen, and discuss their futurological visions for English.

Feature Girl Episode 1; by Friday Night Linguistics — Linguistic superhero Feature Girl enjoys a night out.

Speech Disorders as Indicators of Potential for Lyrical Success; by Ozzie Tchomzkij; From Volume CLI, Number 2, of Speculative Grammarian, April 2006. — In recent decades, there has been a subtle shift in popular music, as the idea that the human voice itself can be considered an instrument, rather than merely a delivery system for lyrics, has gained widespread acceptance among the general public. (Read by Trey Jones.)

Val Harmony; by Edgar Allan Slater; From Volume XVI, Number 1 of Langue du Monde, The Journal of the Linguistic Society of South-Central New Caledonia, September 1991. — It was many and many a year ago, In a tower of ivory, That a maiden there lived who I did love, By the name of Val Harmony (Read by Jonathan van der Meer.)

The Phonetician’s Love Poem; by Epiphanios o Phantasiopliktos; From Volume CLXI, Number 1 of Speculative Grammarian, February 2011. — Sweet modulations of fundamental frequency / Air particles dancing to and fro (Read by Jonathan van der Meer.)

Love Queries of a Linguist; by John Miaou; From Volume CLVII, Number 3 of Speculative Grammarian, November 2009. — If I were a stop, would you be my explosion? If I were a nasal, would you be my syllabification? (Read by Jonathan van der Meer.)