What is Linguistics After Dark?

Linguistics After Dark is a podcast where three linguists (and sometimes other people) answer your burning questions about language, linguistics, and whatever else you need advice about. We have three rules: any question is fair game, there's no research allowed, and if we can't answer, we have to drink.

It's a little like CarTalk for language: call us if your language is making a funny noise, and we'll get to the bottom of it, with a lot of rowdy discussion and bad nerdy jokes along the way. At the beginning of every show, we introduce a new linguistics term, and there's even a puzzler at the end!

If you want to discuss episodes and get involved with the LxAD community, you can make an account on The Crossings Slack and find us in the #linguistics channel!

Meet the Hosts:

Eli (American English)

How many languages do you speak?

Depends on how you count? English, Spanish, Japanese, some Biblical Hebrew, bits and pieces of other languages.

What's your linguistic specialty?

Morphosyntax

What's your accent like?

I’ve got Mary/merry/marry mergers but not caught/cot or pin/pen, plus Chicago final devoicing and some serious Northern Cities Shift.

Linguistics Hot Take:

All vowels are secretly the same vowel.

Sarah (American English)

How many languages do you speak?

"Speak"? Uhhhh… English, Latin, American Sign Language, French, and then bits and pieces of Spanish, Mandarin, Attic Greek, and probably others I’m forgetting.

What's your linguistic specialty?

Phonetics and etymology

What's your accent like?

Grew up with merry/Mary/marry, but am losing it (most likely to distinguish ‘merry’ of the lot); don’t have cot/caught; sometimes have pin/pen; have half a Northern Cities Shift, a handful of New England vowels, and a hella lotta loose change, too.

Favorite IPA symbol?

I’m very fond of both ɬ and ɫ.

Jenny (American English)

How many languages do you speak?

English fluently, plus very beginner Japanese and a reasonable amount of Latin & ASL vocab but next to no grammar in either case (and my Latin pronunciation is both Ecclesiastical and partially forgotten).

What's your linguistic specialty?

Language evolution

What's your accent like?

I sound like I’m from somewhere you have friends but never where you’re from yourself. Got the merry/Mary/marry merger (which I can kinda sorta distinguish sometimes but not consistently at all), but not caught/cot or pin/pen.

Favorite IPA symbol?

I’d have to go with either ð or ʃ.