Language Made Difficult, Vol. L — The SpecGram LingNerds are on their own this time. After some Lies, Damned Lies, and Linguistics, the LingNerds discuss the dangers of mispronouncing the names of Canadian provinces, and then advise students as

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XLIX

Jan 2nd, 2017 42m 7s

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XLIX — The SpecGram LingNerds are joined by returning guest Tim Pulju. After some Lies, Damned Lies, and Linguistics, the LingNerds discuss purported evidence against Chomsky, and then reveal the titles of their bo

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XLVIII

Dec 26th, 2016 51m 9s

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XLVIII — The SpecGram LingNerds are joined by returning guest Kean Kaufmann. After some Lies, Damned Lies, and Linguistics, the LingNerds discuss a one hundred word language, and then move on to the royal and other

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XLVII

Dec 19th, 2016 55m 31s

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XLVII — The SpecGram LingNerds are joined by guest Kean Kaufmann. After some Lies, Damned Lies, and Linguistics, the LingNerds briefly discuss some innovative bits of English Grammar—no, totally!—and then try out s

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XLVI

Dec 12th, 2016 53m

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XLVI — The SpecGram LingNerds are joined by returning guest Pete Bleackley. After some Lies, Damned Lies, and Linguistics, the LingNerds discuss something else that tries to look like iconicity, and then look at so

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XLV

Dec 5th, 2016 38m 2s

Language Made Difficult, Vol. XLV — The SpecGram LingNerds are joined by guest Pete Bleackley. After some Lies, Damned Lies, and Linguistics, the LingNerds discuss something that tries to look like iconicity, and then share their favorite lingu

Language Made Difficult—Update, Nov. 2016

Nov 19th, 2016 45s

As you may have noticed, we've been off the air for a few months, and Language Made Difficult has been missing in action for quite a while. I have some good news! We've made it back to the studio and we're recording another six episodes of Lang

The History of the Indo-Europeans—An Agony in Six Fits

Jun 11th, 2016 8m 53s

The History of the Indo-Europeans—An Agony in Six Fits; by Tim Pulju; From Volume CLXXIV, Number 4, of Speculative Grammarian, December 2015 — Once upon a time, on a warm spring day about 5500 years ago, a young Indo-European named Bright-Fame

Plagiarize This!

Jun 4th, 2016 1m 56s

Plagiarize This!; by An Unidentifiable Subset of the SpecGram Editorial Board; From Volume CLXXII, Number 3, of Speculative Grammarian, March 2015 — It has come to our attention that entirely unfounded, spurious, and indefatigable accusations o

Plagiarism Uncovered in SpecGram Pages

Jun 4th, 2016 5m 7s

Plagiarism Uncovered in SpecGram Pages; by The Linguistic Inquirer; From Volume CLXXII, Number 3, of Speculative Grammarian, March 2015 — Pursuant to the terms of the pre-litigious resolution of “Grammar Entelechy v. Speculative Grammarian” the

Degenerative Grammar

May 9th, 2016 3m 13s

Degenerative Grammar; by Desirée-Debauchée Cyntacks & Dec A. D’Cadence; From Volume CLXXII, Number 2, of Speculative Grammarian, February 2015 — Since the 1950’s, linguistics has been wild with excitement over Chomsky’s insights, collectively k

Hazards of Fieldwork Among the Hiithrobnsn

Apr 25th, 2016 2m 55s

Hazards of Fieldwork Among the Hiithrobnsn; by William Moore-Crusoe; From Volume CLXXIV, Number 2, of Speculative Grammarian, October 2015 — The Hiithrobnsn live in a remote, marshy and inhospitable region of Guyana. A traditional greeting amon

Top Tips For Linguists—Part II

Apr 16th, 2016 2m 17s

Top Tips For Linguists—Part II; by The SpecGram Editorial Board; From Volume CLXXIV, Number 4, of Speculative Grammarian, December 2015 — Realizing that many linguists, young and old, find themselves unsure of how best to succeed (or have succe

Top Tips For Linguists—Part I

Apr 16th, 2016 2m 11s

Top Tips For Linguists—Part I; by The SpecGram Editorial Board; From Volume CLXXIV, Number 3, of Speculative Grammarian, November 2015 — Realizing that many linguists, young and old, find themselves unsure of how best to succeed (or have succes

Linguistic Contributions To The Formal Theory Of Big-Game Hunting

Apr 11th, 2016 10m 7s

Linguistic Contributions To The Formal Theory Of Big-Game Hunting; by R. Mathiesen; From Lingua Pranca, June, 1978 — The Mathematical Theory of Big-Game Hunting must surely be ranked among the major scientific achievements of the twentieth cent

Ye Olde Punnery—The Jigglepike Fragment

Apr 4th, 2016 2m 18s

Ye Olde Punnery—The Jigglepike Fragment; by SpecGram Wire Services; From Volume CLXX, Number 1, of Speculative Grammarian, May 2014 — A small fragment of a manuscript believed to be part of the lost play “Ye Olde Punnery” by Willhebe Jigglepike

Reviewerish Field Notes

Mar 25th, 2016 3m 44s

Reviewerish Field Notes; by Cy Tayshon and M. Paktphaq-Torr; From Volume CLXXV, Number 2, of Speculative Grammarian, February 2016 — One of the most important skills linguists-to-be must develop is the ability to interpret the true meaning behi

Features of Tea: A Potted History

Mar 19th, 2016 2m 34s

Features of Tea: A Potted History; by Pete Bleackley; From Volume CLXXIII, Number 2, of Speculative Grammarian, June 2015 — According to legend, tea originated when an emperor of China was adding the feature [+boiled] to his drinking-water, hav

The Devil’s Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics

Mar 14th, 2016 4m 28s

The Devil’s Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics; by David Krystal &Adam Baker; From Volume CLXXV, Number 1, of Speculative Grammarian, January 2016 — C-command. A f-formal r-relationship m-made n-necessary by an u-unfortunate e-early c-comm

Close and Extended Relative Clauses—A Critical Account

Feb 29th, 2016 6m 2s

Close and Extended Relative Clauses—A Critical Account; by Fang Gui-Ling; From Volume CLXIV, Number 4, of Speculative Grammarian, June 2012 — Analytical approaches to relative clauses have by and large incorporated the growing body of evidence

Handy Definitions for Newcomers to the Field of Linguistics

Feb 21st, 2016 1m 51s

Handy Definitions for Newcomers to the Field of Linguistics; by Ken Miner and David J. Peterson; From Collateral Descendant of Lingua Pranca, October 2009 — back-formation: lumbar exercises / circumfix: unhealthy fascination with circuses; a cr

Kill All Phoneticians—Rebroadcast

Feb 13th, 2016 1m 59s

Kill All Phoneticians; by Die Lingulelen; From Volume CLXIX, Number 3, of Speculative Grammarian, March 2014 — The taste of love is sweet / When two syntacticians meet / But can our love survive / If we don’t agree how to derive? (Performed by

λ♥[love] (Linguistics Love Song)—Rebroadcast

Feb 13th, 2016 3m 14s

λ♥[love] (Linguistics Love Song); by Christine Collins; From Volume CLXII, Number 1 of Speculative Grammarian, June 2011. — let me have your heart and i will give you love / the denotation of my soul is the above / if there’s anything i lack, i

Val Harmony—Rebroadcast

Feb 13th, 2016 2m 3s

Val Harmony; by Edgar Allan Slater; From Volume XVI, Number 1 of Langue du Monde, The Journal of the Linguistic Society of South-Central New Caledonia, September 1991. — It was many and many a year ago, In a tower of ivory, That a maiden there

The Phonetician’s Love Poem—Rebroadcast

Feb 13th, 2016 47s

The Phonetician’s Love Poem; by Epiphanios o Phantasiopliktos; From Volume CLXI, Number 1 of Speculative Grammarian, February 2011. — Sweet modulations of fundamental frequency / Air particles dancing to and fro (Read by Jonathan van der Meer.)