Lexis

A podcast about language and linguistics for A Level English Language students, teachers and anyone else who's interested in language.

Latest episodes

Nov 6, 2023 • 1h 8min

Episode 39: Dan Collen on weaponized laughter memes & Heddwen Newton on Lang in the News

Show notes for Episode 39 Here are the show notes for Episode 39, in which Lisa and Dan talk to Dan Collen, an online hate researcher from Canada about his work on the Weaponized Laughter: Memes and Hate in the Canadian Digital Landscape report he has helped produce. We talk about: Memes: what they are and how they work What is classified as hate speech and the ‘hallmarks of hate’ The discourses at work in hate speech Online communities and their role in shaping and influencing wider culture Dog whistles and plausible deniability Hope for the future? 🚩As might be obvious when looking at hate speech, this episode comes with a content warning for themes of racism and discrimination.🚩 And for a Lang in the News special, we talk to Heddwen Newton about her newsletter English in Progress, some recent news stories that have caught her eye and how to stay on top of news stories about language. Dan Collen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpinelessL The Weaponized Laughter Memes report: https://cdn.sanity.io/files/rdq6owff/production/6b78f8630669069025ea145da2221ef2c1fac032.pdf Hatepedia site: Hatepedia “Hatepedia is an online database and resource centre built with original research to provide educators, parents, lawmakers, and researchers with tools to identify and counter the proliferation of online hate.” Heddwen’s Language in Progress newsletter: https://englishinprogress.substack.com/ Heddwen’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Heddwen Susie Dent’s ‘banished words list’: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65634829 And the Tweet that started it: https://twitter.com/susie_dent/status/1658380887698931712?s=20 Contributors Lisa Casey blog: https://livingthroughlanguage.wordpress.com/ & Twitter: Language Debates (@LanguageDebates) Dan Clayton blog: EngLangBlog & Twitter: EngLangBlog (@EngLangBlog) Mastodon: Jacky Glancey Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackyGlancey Jill Lavender Twitter: https://twitter.com/JillLavs Matthew Butler Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewbutlerCA Music: Serge Quadrado - Cool Guys Cool Guys by Serge Quadrado is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. From the Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/serge-quadrado/urban/cool-guys

Apr 23, 2023 • 48min

Episode 38 - Anna Islentyeva and the representation of masculinity in advertising

Here are the show notes for Episode 38, in which Lisa and Dan talk to Dr Anna Islentyeva of Innsbruck University, Austria about the representation of masculinity in advertising, including: The “Real Men Score” paper she has recently published with her team Stereotypes around gender representation Methodologies and approaches to data Multimodal approaches to visual texts Anna’s university page: https://www.uibk.ac.at/anglistik/staff/islentyeva/islentyeva.html Anna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hei_anni The “Real Men Score” paper: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HZsad35JBMD0kM4FqpXpWn8xWnIzAiL-/view?usp=share_link Anna Islentyeva, Elisabeth Zimmermann, Nadia Schützinger & Andrea Platzer (2023) ‘Real Men Score’: Masculinity in Contemporary Advertising Discourse, Critical Discourse Studies, DOI: 10.1080/17405904.2023.2173625 The study that Anna mentioned into perfume advertising was by Helen Ringrow and this is her book The Language of Cosmetics: The Language of Cosmetics Advertising | SpringerLink And in our regular Lang in the News segment, Jacky and Dan talk about linguistic accommodation, the power of accents and why politicians love to talk down to us. Northern lessons for southern Tories https://twitter.com/christopherhope/status/1649520363926110210?t=pCM6q2gelPqBiOFGy4bQcA&s=19 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/21/how-do-you-sex-a-limpet-susie/ Rishi Sunak’s downwards convergence Here’s the clip: https://twitter.com/sturdyAlex/status/1640280827086143488 Is it “hilariously inauthentic”(Alex Andreou)? Is it “sheer desperation by an out of touch rich boy trying to show he is in tune with the public” (Dave Lawrence in replies to tweet above https://twitter.com/dave43law/status/1640326877842685954?s=20 )? Or is it just another example of politicians (of all parties) trying to sound more human and a perfectly natural way of doing language? Jane Setter article about people keeping/losing accents: https://theconversation.com/why-some-people-lose-their-accents-but-others-dont-linguistic-expert-201986 George Osborne: 'Mockney' George Osborne backs working Briddish with dodgy accent George 'Mockney' Osborne: Chancellor in Estuary accent shocker George Osborne, gawd bless yer | Victoria Coren | The Guardian Academics 'dropping regional accents' to fit in at elite universities (linked story to accommodation) Ed Miliband with Russell Brand: Accent on common ground as Miliband takes on Russell Brand's estuary twang The cultural significance of Ed Miliband's mockney accent | The Spectator Has Ed Miliband changed his accent to get elected? Tony Blair: London Journal; Britons Prick Up Their Ears: Blair's a Li'l Peculiar I don’t have a posh accent – am I bothered? | Suzanne Moore | The Guardian Accents in Higher Education: Academics 'dropping regional accents' to fit in at elite universities British academics try to hide regional accents, study finds Alex Barratta’s work on accents and teaching Research exposes prejudice over teachers with northern accents Contributors Lisa Casey blog: https://livingthroughlanguage.wordpress.com/ & Twitter: Language Debates (@LanguageDebates) Dan Clayton blog: EngLangBlog & Twitter: EngLangBlog (@EngLangBlog) Mastodon: Jacky Glancey Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackyGlancey Jill Lavender Twitter: https://twitter.com/JillLavs Matthew Butler Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewbutlerCA Music: Serge Quadrado - Cool Guys Cool Guys by Serge Quadrado is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. From the Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/serge-quadrado/urban/cool-guys

Mar 25, 2023 • 53min

Episode 37 - Heidi Colthup and the language of gaming

Show notes for Episode 37 Here are the show notes for Episode 37, in which Dan and Jill talk to Dr Heidi Colthup of the University of Kent about the language of gaming, including: Her journey into academia How we define what a game is The language used around and about gaming Narrative and the power of storytelling in games Heidi’s university page: https://www.kent.ac.uk/cultures-languages/people/1705/colthup-heidi Heidi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Heidi_Colthup Some of Heidi’s recommended reading: Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, Rules of Play: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262240451/rules-of-play/ Marie-Laure Ryan, Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media: https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Narrative_as_Virtual_Reality.html?id=cjAWAQAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y And in our regular Lang in the News segment, Lisa and Dan talk about Oxfam’s guide to “inclusive language” and why it has upset some people. Pronouns and inclusive language Oxfam and gender neutral language: Words matter: that’s why Oxfam is launching an inclusive language guide - Views & Voices “These principles and language guidelines are designed to prompt thought when using language. They are not set rules and should not be viewed as restrictions. They are intended to complement existing messaging frameworks and positionings. We recognize that language is context- and audience-specific, and shifts between time and place; we would encourage you to think about what works best for your purpose.” New Statesman The furore over Oxfam’s “woke” language guide misses the point - New Statesman Is it a choice between “Blustering bigotry or preening sanctimony”? “Language is neither progressive nor regressive. It does not move along a line of continuous, consensus-led improvement, nor will it wholly degrade into meaningless relativism. What it does do is change – change being the mess made by the passage of time. It evolves as nature evolves: scruffily, multifariously and incrementally, its infinite variety matching that of the needs and circumstances of the people it serves. This is what gives words their power to disrupt the status quo –they are radically demotic, belonging to everyone and no one. No top-down initiative or prescription, whether from a right-on NGO or a thundering middle-market tabloid, can rob them of that quality. No actor, however powerful, can control or shape the whole.” Mail Online Oxfam's new 92-page inclusivity guide calls English 'the language of a colonising nation' | Daily Mail Online Telegraph Don’t say mother or father as it could offend, Oxfam tells staff Pink News Oxfam hits back at critics of trans-inclusive guidance who claim its 'erasing mums and dads' An Oxfam spokesperson told PinkNews: “We are proud of using inclusive language; we won’t succeed in tackling poverty by excluding marginalised groups. This guide is not prescriptive, it is intended to help authors communicate with the diverse range of people with which we work. “We are disappointed that some people have decided to misrepresent the advice offered in the guide which clearly states that authors should respect the desires of those who want to be described as a mother or father.” Why inclusive language doesn't have to exclude: https://twitter.com/msolurin/status/1638908370274119682?t=yAnw7WkwLYQTKY0DbOUkgg&s=19 Dennis Baron on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrGrammar/status/1638682725585657856 And his book “What’s Your Pronoun?” is really good on the history of much of this. https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/What_s_Your_Pronoun_Beyond_He_and_She.html?id=SCqfDwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y Interesting piece on pronouns and language change ‘It’s complicated – but you can’t shy away from it’: everything you wanted to know about pronouns (but were afraid to ask) | Gender | The Guardian

Dec 30, 2022 • 59min

Episode 36 - Claire Hardaker and forensic linguistics

Here are the show notes for Episode 36, in which Dan and Lisa talk to Dr Claire Hardaker about: Forensic linguistics What language can reveal about us The benefits and problems of technology in forensic linguistics The role of the forensic linguist in an unequal society The future of forensic linguistics Claire’s Lancaster University page: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/linguistics/about/people/claire-hardaker Claire’s en clair podcast: http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/enclair/ Claire on Twitter: https://twitter.com/drclaireH Claire on Mastodon: https://mastodonapp.uk/@drclaireh And in our regular Lang in the News segment, Lisa and Dan talk about Words of the Year- which ones have been chosen so far, how they have been selected, why they work (or don’t?) and what they might tell us about 2022. Collins: ‘Sums up 2022’: Permacrisis chosen as Collins word of the year | Culture | The Guardian A year of ‘permacrisis’ - Collins Dictionary Language Blog Oxford Dictionaries: https://languages.oup.com/word-of-the-year/2022/#WOTY2022vote https://www.independent.co.uk/news/goblin-mode-meaning-word-of-the-year-oxford-dictionary-b2239839.html ‘Goblin mode’: new Oxford word of the year speaks to the times | Language | The Guardian Slobbing out and giving up: why are so many people going ‘goblin mode’? | Life and style | The Guardian Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/editorial/woty Merriam Webster: Word of the Year 2022 | Gaslighting | Merriam-Webster Macquarie: Teal named Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year – ‘an emblem of Australia’s political landscape’ Dictionary dot com: Dictionary.com’s 2022 Word Of The Year Is… Dictionary.com announces word of the year: ‘woman’ | US news | The Guardian Dan’s Independent article about WOTY2022: 2022’s Words of the Year and what they tell us | The Independent » Words of the Year American Dialect Society

Dec 23, 2022 • 60min

Episode 35 - an opinion articles special with Harriet Williamson

Here are the show notes for Episode 35, an opinion articles special, in which Dan and Jacky talk to Harriet Williamson, the Voices Commissioning Editor at The Independent about: Opinion articles and what makes a good one, including pieces about language issues The job of a commissioning editor Paths into journalism Educating the public about language Harriet’s Independent page: https://www.independent.co.uk/author/harriet-williamson Harriet on Twitter: https://twitter.com/harriepw Indy Voices on Twitter: https://twitter.com/IndyVoices Harriet’s article on accent-shaming: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/accent-bias-shaming-bbc-english-b2216735.html Harriet on why, if you want to be a writer, it pays to be a reader: https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/editors-letters/better-writer-journalism-reading-stephen-king-b2140181.html Victoria Richards’ article on language and refugees: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/suella-braverman-invasion-migrants-firebombing-b2214905.html And in our regular Lang in the News segment, Lisa, Jacky and Dan discuss and analyse an article by Michael Deacon of the Daily Telegraph that lays into the BBC’s Amol Rajan over his views on accents at the BBC. We also look at two letters from Telegraph readers in response to (and in support of) the Deacon article. We also see how many times we can say Amol Rajan’s name in the space of 30 minutes… Make sure you have the article to hand as we pull it apart! Michael Deacon article here (paywalled version): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2022/09/28/amol-rajans-attack-posh-presenters-pure-inverted-snobbery/ Michael Deacon article here (Pressreader version): https://pressreader.com/article/281573769572585 Letters here: https://pressreader.com/article/282093460615450 Amol Rajan’s Cracking the Class Ceiling programme https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001fygr And reviewed here Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2022/12/06/how-crack-class-ceiling-review/ Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/dec/06/tv-tonight-amol-rajan-class-ceiling-bbc-jamie-claudia-winkleman-the-traitors Amol Rajan’s initial points reported here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09/27/amol-rajan-accuses-bbc-posh-having-accent-bias

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!

Get the app

Lexis

Latest episodes

Episode 44 - Kingsley Ugwuanyi + Amanda Cole

Episode 43 - language & gender special part 2

Episode 42 - Deborah Cameron, language & gender special part 1