The Social Effects of Language

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There's always going to be individual level variation and our minds are really good at that. What i'm interested in is the ways in which these patterns are socialized. So intonations are picked up socially. Of course, the very purpose of language is to communicate hin a social system. Younger folks and women tend to be the drivers of linguistic trends.

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