Talk the Talk

A conservative pundit has reignited the debate around the word 'retard' by using it as a slur. Advocates for people with intellectual disabilities are taking the opportunity to renew their call to "end the r-word". Is it insensitive to use the word 'retard' this way, or is it just another sense of the word with a different meaning? Does it do any good to declare certain words off-limits? Linguist Daniel Midgley gets it started on this episode of Talk the Talk.

Why do human languages resemble each other? Is it coincidence, or do our brains come hard-wired with a language? A new experiment suggests another possibility: humans adapt language in ways that make it easier for human brains to process. Linguist Daniel Midgley makes it clearer on this episode of Talk the Talk.

Last week saw two political exchanges on the world scene — Julia Gillard's denunciation of misogyny in Australia, and Joe Biden's performance in the US Vice Presidential debate. The two exchanges were notable for their words, but also for their body language, as these politicians used gestures and facial expressions to show — or hide — their true feelings. Linguist Daniel Midgley gets political on this episode of Talk the Talk.

Language is always changing. That's true for spoken languages, but it's also true for signed languages. A new study of British Sign Language shows that younger signers are avoiding older, more offensive signs and using new versions instead. What's with the new signs? Linguist Daniel Midgley investigates on this episode of Talk the Talk.

Do you read banned books? It's Banned Books Week — when we celebrate books that have been targeted for being obscene, indecent, blasphemous, and seditious. Banning (and sometimes burning) books is popular in the USA, but there's plenty of censorship going on in Australia, too. Linguist Daniel Midgley finds the books they don't want you to read on this episode of Talk the Talk.

Recent years have seen a groundswell of support for the recognition of Australian Indigenous languages, but the future of many of these languages is in doubt. Into this environment comes a new Parliamentary report making recommendations for their teaching and promotion. What's in the report? Will it help maintain Australian languages? Linguist Daniel Midgley tells all on this episode of Talk the Talk.

Blasphemy is the act of showing irreverence or contempt for religious deities or beliefs. And it's in the news, as Muslims around the globe are protesting a blasphemous film. Should some ideas be off-limits for criticism? Can blasphemy be constructive? And what are you doing for Blasphemy Day? Linguist and infidel Daniel Midgley explores blasphemy on this episode of Talk the Talk.

You've seen the Apple Geniuses. They're floating around in the Apple Store, helping customers, fixing problems, and making sales. Now it seems that a copy of Apple's Genius guide has been leaked, with instructions on the language that Geniuses should use. Which words and phrases do they employ, and which do they try to avoid? And can this information help you in your personal life? Linguist Daniel Midgley cracks the code on this episode of Talk the Talk.

How do mice communicate? By smell or facial expression? Forget it. Some mice in Costa Rica communicate by singing, and these tiny sopranos have a lot to teach us about our own language gene. What's the connection between squeaking and speaking? Linguist Daniel Midgley gets mousey on this episode of Talk the Talk.

We like to think of ourselves as rational beings that can make decisions more or less free of bias. But research shows that language can influence our perception in subtle ways -- either for good or for bad. Even our choice of language can make us reason more clearly, or understand someone better. Linguist Daniel Midgley discusses language and bias on this episode of Talk the Talk.

How did language start? It's a difficult question, since language doesn't leave fossils. But by getting experimental volunteers to act out concepts, Dr Nicolas Fay is building evidence for one of the major views on language origins. What can we learn from charades? Dr Fay explains on this episode of Talk the Talk.

Babies are fast learners when it comes to language. New research reveals that they can distinguish speech sounds and understand the intentions of other speakers, before they've even learned how to talk. But how do you test a baby's skills? And what does this tell us about language and the mind? Linguist Daniel Midgley goes gaga on this episode of Talk the Talk.

A couple of recent studies seem to confirm what many fear: text abbreviations cause poor grammar and writing skills in tweens and teens. Are we on the verge of a new Dark Age? Will the Internet render us incapable of language? Well, not so fast. There's evidence that textspeak is actually beneficial to language, and that the fears are overblown. Linguist Daniel Midgley hoses down the panic on this episode of Talk the Talk.

Do you have trouble processing sentences? Blame your brain. New research shows that we don't evaluate every word when processing language‚ and this leads us into problems when confronted by 'semantic illusions'. Linguist Daniel Midgley reveals all on this episode of Talk the Talk.

Mother, father, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, and cousin. Our words for family relations are so familiar to us that it's hard to imagine them any other way. But other languages have some surprising ways of ordering their kinship terms, and they can tell us about our social structure and our minds. Linguist Daniel Midgley speaks with Dr Charles Kemp on this episode of Talk the Talk.