What’s in a name? | How naming customs differ around the world
In this episode, Christina and Dominic tackle the fascinating – and sometimes funny – ways names reflect identity, culture, and even fashion trends.- Can names have meaning, or do they just point to people?- Are you allowed to name your kid “Superman” or “Snow White” in Germany?- How do naming customs differ across languages and decades?- Why may a hyphen in “Mary-Jane” or “Sanchez-Stockhammer” matter more than you think?Whether you're a Jennifer, a Phoenix, or an Emma, this episode has something for anyone with a name (aka: all of us).Full episode transcript available here:https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode17Full article available to read for free here:Hello Mary Lou (and Mary-Lou and Marylou, too)! Exploring the applicability of English compound spelling strategies to composite names. By Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer. https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/handle/2077/67201/gupea_2077_67201_1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (p. 325-335)Mentioned in this episode:www.thinkbabynames.com: information on the origin and popularity of names
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Are cooking recipes about YOU and ME? | Cookbook linguistics
In this deliciously geeky episode of Linguistics Behind the Scenes, Christina and Dominic trace the evolution of recipes as both instructions and stories, discussing how language, food, and emotion are bound together.- Do recipes really avoid words like “I” and “you”?- How French are French fries?- Do most recipes start with a personal story?- What do recipes from 1864 have in common with today’s?From ancient cuneiform cookbooks to modern online menus, this episode serves up a sizzling mix of food, language and culture. Christina shares her original linguistic research on personal pro-nouns in cooking recipes, and reveals why recipes are both impersonal and deeply personal in this savory, data-rich episode of Linguistics Behind the Scenes. Bon appétit!Full episode transcript available here:https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode16 Full article available to read for free here:The linguistic functions of personal pronouns in online cooking recipes. By Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer. https://doi.org/10.33675/ANGL/2025/2/10 Mentioned in this episode:- www.allrecipes.com: online recipe collection- www.justtherecipe.com: reduces recipes to their essence by removing narrative parts- Ratatouille. 2007. Pixar film. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382932/ - Recipes by Yotam Ottolenghi. https://ottolenghi.co.uk/pages/recipes
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Do you say thank you to a robot? | When humans talk to AI
In this human-meets-machine episode, Christina and Dominic explore the curious intersection of linguistics and AI—with special focus on how people talk to robots. They explore the history of chatbots from ELIZA to ChatGPT, and unveil findings from a new study on human-robot interaction using a robotic arm.- How does generative AI like ChatGPT work?- Why is a “Wizard of Oz” study possibly not what you think it is?- What happens if humans and robots build IKEA shelves together?- Do we use more commands with robots than with other humans?Along the way, they reveal that people often say “thank you” to robots – almost like to humans.This episode is packed with linguistic insights, surprising data, a dose of ethics, and more pop culture trivia than you might expect from a robotics paper.Full episode transcript available here:https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode15 Full article available to read for free here: "Another bit. Upwards. Okay, stop." Do we talk differently to humans and robots when assembling a shelf together? By Sasha Genevieve Coelho, Sascha Kaden, Marina Beccard, Florian Röhrbein and Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer. https://doi.org/10.1145/3743049.3748536 Films and series recommended in this episode:- The Imitation Game. 2014. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2084970/ - My Fair Lady. 1964. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058385/ - The Theory of Everything. 2014. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2980516/ - The Wizard of Oz. 1939. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/ - How It’s Made. www.youtube.com/@HowItsmade8 - Die Sendung mit der Maus. Lach- und Sachgeschichten. www.youtube.com/@diemaus - I’m Your Man. (Ich bin dein Mensch.) 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13087796/ Also mentioned in this episode:- R.U.R. Science fiction play by Czech writer Karel Čapek. 1920.- The Mechanical Turk. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_Turk.- Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Techno song by DJ Marusha. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohfSJC44oe8 - John R. Searle. 1976. A Classification of Illocutionary Acts 1. Language in Society 5(1). 1-23.
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Is English full of lonely words? | Linguistic tricks for learning words
In this brilliantly nerdy episode, Christina and Dominic explore those English words that seem to stand all on their own, with no linguistic parents or children in sight. But wait—are they really that isolated? Discover unexpected word families and the hidden building blocks of language. Learn why “annual” sounds fancier than “yearly,” why mnemonics are your best friend, and how to decode big, scary words like “misinterpretation”.Would you wear a ballgown or a costume to a “fancy dress” party?Is “understand” really about standing under something?What are the best tricks for learning vocabulary in a foreign language?(Please post your favourite mnemonics in the comments!)Dominic and Christina compare English and German words like “Handschuh” (hand-shoe = glove) and “Armbanduhr” (bracelet-clock = watch) and conclude that if you know where to look, words can reveal a whole hidden network of meaning. Full episode transcript available here:https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode14 Read the complete book for free here:Consociation and Dissociation: An Empirical Study of Word-Family Integration in English and German. By Christina Sanchez. www.doi.org/10.24053/9783823373841. Mentioned in this episode:“How anyone (including YOU) can read German” by RobWords (Rob Watts). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VebSZrHmsI4. Remembering the Kanji by James W. Heisig. https://hep.ph.liv.ac.uk/~payne/sgfSigmaThing/James%20W.%20Heisig%20-%20Remembering%20Kanji%204%BA%20Edition%20-%20Vol%201.pdf.
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Can we predict the future of English? | Current trends and language change
Welcome, time travelers, to a tour through the evolution of the English language! Christina and Dominic chat about the quirks of linguistic prediction, and the weird and wonderful ways language changes right under our noses.- Who’s at the origin of linguistic change?- How is American English sneaking into other dialects?- Will "fewer" finally lose to "less"?- Can we forecast language like the weather?From glottal stops to German “Handys” and English “earworms,” this episode explores digital slang and global English influences, and ventures into the question how linguists test their predictions – not with crystal balls, but using data, probabilities, and a whole lot of curiosity.Full episode transcript available here:https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode13 Full article available to read for free here: Can we predict linguistic change? An introduction. By Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer. https://varieng.helsinki.fi/series/volumes/16/introduction.html.Read more about the topic in the freely available online volume Can we predict linguistic change? Edited by Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer. https://varieng.helsinki.fi/series/volumes/16/.Mentioned in this episode:- Tom Scott: The language sounds that could exist, but don't. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uZam0ubq-Y.- Ig Nobel prizes: https://improbable.com/ig/about-the-ig-nobel-prizes/.
This podcast is for everyone who enjoys or even loves language.
Have you ever wondered why we speak or write like that? And how we can find out what is usual, "right" or "wrong" in language use?
Then join linguistics professor Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer and linguistics enthusiast Dominic Piazza on a backstage tour of linguistic research as they engage in entertaining chats about all the many fun and interesting aspects of language.
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https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast.php
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