Talk the Talk

A new study has revealed some promising insights on the origins of human language. It now appears that language began in Africa, and it may even have helped our ancestors make the move to other parts of the world. But how can we know what language was like, thousands of years ago? UWA linguist Daniel Midgley takes you back in time on this week’s Talk the Talk.

Words don't always mean what they used to. 'Momentarily' used to mean 'for a moment', but now people use it to mean 'in a moment'. And many people don't take 'literally' literally. How do we know when it's time to give the old meaning the old heave-ho? UWA linguist Daniel Midgley looks at some attempts to do just that, on this week's Talk the Talk.

Apple has apps. It even has an App Store. But now Microsoft has challenged Apple’s attempt to trademark “App Store”, and Amazon wants to have its own Appstore. Is that allowed? Companies get to trademark words and terms they invent, but what happens when those words enter the public lexicon? UWA linguist Daniel Midgley gets proprietary on this week's Talk the Talk.

The Oxford English Dictionary has added 900 new words, including Internet-inspired abbreviations like LOL, OMG, and BFF. Will this cause the demise of society and the collapse of IQ scores globally? UWA linguist Daniel Midgley is here to hose down the hysteria, and reveal the surprising history of these new words on this week's Talk the Talk.

Letters are letters, but the Internet gives them a new existence. UWA linguist Daniel Midgley looks at what's happening to the 'e' in 'email', examines the 'i' in your iPad, and puts the 'x' in 'sex'. All on this week's Talk the Talk.

When MIT scientist Deb Roy's first child was born, he did what any proud father would do: he rigged his house up with cameras and microphones to capture every phase of his child's language development. What are we learning about child language acquisition from this project? UWA linguist Daniel Midgley goes gaga on this week's Talk the Talk.

New research reveals that speaking a second language doesn't just make you more interesting -- it also holds off the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. How does it work? And which second language is right for you? UWA linguist Daniel Midgley is looking out for your brain on this week's Talk the Talk.

‎"The King's Speech" has won the Oscar for Best Picture, and this has brought attention to the issue of speech disfluency. What causes stammering, and how do people learn to manage it? And how affected was the King's speech, anyway? UWA linguist Daniel Midgley tries to make it clear on this week's Talk the Talk.

It's one of the most commonly recognised English words in the world. You probably use it scores of times a day. But how much do you know about 'okay'? Joining Ben and Daniel is Allan Metcalfe, linguist and author of "OK: The Improbable Story of America's Greatest Word", this week on Talk the Talk.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott copped some flak when he referred to a soldier's death in Afghanistan using a certain well-known philosophical homily: "Shit happens." How did this phrase enter the lexicon, and what impact has it had? It's all happening with UWA linguist Daniel Midgley on this week's Talk the Talk.

The search engine giants are in the news. Google is alleging that Microsoft's Bing is copying its results. How do they know? And how does a search engine work anyway? UWA linguist Daniel Midgley makes sense of the technology on this week's Talk the Talk.

Chaser, a border collie, can recognise the names of over 1,000 objects, and her owner claims she can carry out commands involving verbs and nouns combined. Is this evidence that animals can use language-like skills? UWA linguist Daniel Midgley investigates on this week's Talk the Talk.

This month, Canadian radio banned the Dire Straits song 'Money for Nothing' over an anti-gay slur in its lyrics. Has the word 'faggot' now become as unacceptable as other swear words? And how has the word changed since its origin as a bundle of sticks? UWA linguist Daniel Midgley explains on this week's 'Talk the Talk'.

Last week, a computer system named Watson bested two human champions in a practice round of the trivia game 'Jeopardy!' How can a computer pull the right answer out of a knowledge database? UWA linguist Daniel Midgley might have the right answer on this week's Talk the Talk.

NewSouth Books is planning to release a version of Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn" with the 'n-word' removed. Is it political correctness run amok, or a rather good idea? The book has found itself at the centre of controversy ever since its release, but is this the way to fix it? And what would Twain have thought? UWA linguist Daniel Midgley weighs in.