Lingthusiasm - A podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics

Before there was English, or Latin, or Czech, or Hindi, there was a language that they all... more

We often invoke the idea of language by showing the mouth or the hands. But the nose is im... more

Linguistic research has its highs and lows: from staging a traditional wedding to learn ab... more

When we try to represent languages on a map, it's common to assign each language a zone or... more

We asked you if a burrito was a sandwich, and you said 'no'. We asked you if ravioli was a... more

TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts are an evolving genre of media: short-form, ve... more

When we talk about language reclamation, we often think about oral traditions. But at this... more

Gestures: every known language has them, and there's a growing body of research on how the... more

It's a fun science fiction trope: learn a mysterious alien language and acquire superpower... more

When we first learn about nature, we generally start with the solid mid-sized animals: cat... more

This is our hundredth episode that's enthusiastic about linguistics! To celebrate, we've p... more

If it wouldn't be too much trouble, if you have a spare half hour, could we possibly sugge... more

When a human learns a new word, we're learning to attach that word to a set of concepts in... more

Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog... In this episode, your hosts ... more

We're taking you on a journey to new linguistic destinations, so come along for the ride a... more

Imagine you're in a field with someone whose language you don't speak. A rabbit scurries b... more

When we're talking about an activity -- say, throwing teacups in a lake -- we often want t... more

There are many ways that people perform gender, from clothing and hairstyle to how we talk... more

Sometimes two words are smooshed together in a single act of creativity to fill a lexical ... more

When you order a kebab and they ask you if you want everything on it, you might say yes. B... more

On Lingthusiasm, we've sometimes compared the human vocal tract to a giant meat clarinet, ... more

For tens of thousands of years, humans have transmitted long and intricate stories to each... more

It's easy to find claims that certain languages are old or even the oldest, but which one ... more

Language lets us talk about things that aren't, strictly speaking, entirely real. Sometime... more

Basque is a language of Europe which is unrelated to the Indo-European languages around it... more

When you have a sentence like "I visit them", the word order and the shape of the words te... more

Pointing creates an invisible line between a part of your body and the thing you're pointi... more

Young kids growing up in Guatemala often learn Q’anjob’al, Kaq’chikel, or another Mayan la... more

Linguists are often interested in comparing several languages or dialects. To make this ea... more

In the sentence “the horse has eaten an apple”, what is the word “has” doing? It’s not exp... more