Language Is Like a Contagious Rate

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In the eightiesodle p s, i just went into the way back machine and listened to portions of this song. It made me very, very sad. And it also made me reflect on how important social progress and empathy and tolerance are - that it's a battle worth fighting have a more loving society.

Alie is delirious with the flu, so it’s an encore presentation of a favorite episode. If you slept on this when it first aired, get into Phonology now. Vocal fry. Code switching. Black Twitter. Valley girls. Culture vultures. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TALKING. Alie battles traffic to sit down with linguistics professor Dr. Nicole Holliday about intonational phonology: how tones and pitch help us bond with others and construct identities. Inspired in part by former President Barack Obama's masterful linguistic variability, Dr. Holliday's work focuses on how language is used in the crossing and construction of racial/ethnic boundaries. She graciously fielded tons of questions for a fascinating dive into the nuances and strict grammatical rules of African American Language, cultural appropriation, our educational system, honoring your identity, what not to wear in Paris and the roiling debate over who is the best rapper. Also: Alie is maybe a lizard person.

Follow Dr. Nicole Holliday @MixedLinguist on Twitter and Instagram

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Sound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray Morris

Music by Nick Thorburn