What is language actually good for?

Michael Rosen talks to Sophia Smith Galer about the languages we're losing. She's found that by the end of this century half of the world’s 7000 languages will be gone, and she's travelled across the world to meet both the people who are experiencing this and those who are fighti ...  Show more

Michael Rosen talks to Ione Georgakis from Tourette Action about about her personal and professional experience of Tourette Syndrome and vocal tics. How and why do tics happen, and what are some of the myths and misunderstandings around the syndrome?Produced for BBC Audio Bristol ...  Show more

Nick Enfield’s book, Language vs. Reality: Why Language is Good for Lawyers and Bad for Scientists (MIT Press, 2022), argues that language is primarily for social coordination, not precisely transferring thoughts from one person to another. Drawing on empirical research, Enfield ...  Show more

What is the strangest language in the world? Many linguists believe that all languages share certain universal rules and features. They believe that humans have innate or natural grammar that we are born with. However, there is a language from South America which is so strange an ...  Show more

A thrilling journey deep into the heart of language, from a rather unexpected starting point. Keith Kahn-Harris is a man obsessed with something seemingly trivial – the warning message found inside Kinder Surprise eggs: "WARNING, read and keep: Toy not suitable for children under ...  Show more

Civilization rests upon the existence of language, says language creator David Peterson. In a talk that’s equal parts passionate and hilarious, he shows how studying, preserving and inventing new languages helps us understand our collective humanity -- and gives a quick lesson on ...  Show more