Episode 37's star language is another 'proto'-tongue, arguably the most famous of all reconstructed prehistoric languages: Proto-Indo-European. This ancient language, whose linguistic descendants can now be found across the world, has long been the goal of an intellectual quest. The task of identifying the facts of PIE began in the realms of philology and linguistics, but archaeology and genetics have since contributed much to our understanding. Bringing together the insights of those three fiel...
Jul 07, 2025•43 min•Season 3Ep. 37
Bouônjour! Join me on a journey to Jersey, an island off the coast of France, where for centuries the local language of Jèrriais has kept up its role in the life of the Islanders, despite considerable pressure from linguistic heavyweights in the area (first French, later English). My guest for episode 36 of ALILI is Geraint Jennings, a language teacher, translator and lover of Jèrriais, who was the ideal person to present the history of Jersey and the status of Jèrriais today. We discuss where J...
Jun 09, 2025•45 min•Season 3Ep. 36
Episode 35 of ALILI is a new part of the world and a new language family: West Africa, and Niger-Congo! Our way into this corner of the linguistic world is Dza (also known as Jenjo or just Jen), an endangered language spoken in Nigeria. My guest is Peace Benson, who is actively working to spread awareness of her native language through academic research and infectious enthusiasm. We discuss all sorts of Dza-related topics, from its distinctive vowels to the sociolinguistic situation of Nigeria. ...
May 20, 2025•42 min•Season 3Ep. 35
Episode 34 is a trip to Indonesia, specifically to the small island of Ternate. Don't let the island's size fool you though – it has a rich and complex history, which this episode explores through the Ternate language. This was the choice of my guest, PhD researcher Maria Zielenbach, who introduces Ternate's history, sounds, lexicon and complicated family situation. You may be surprised to hear how Ternate word formation works a little bit like Welsh and Irish... Support the language-loving miss...
Apr 27, 2025•37 min•Season 3Ep. 34
Now here's a first for the podcast: its first conlang! Na'vi, the language created for the Avatar films, was the choice of Stefan Mir-Mackiewicz, a language enthusiast who plays a role in shaping this constructed language. We discussed the origins of Na'vi, its sources of inspiration, its sounds and grammar, and the community that continues to develop it. Some language history and 'Proto-Na'vi' even get a mention! Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: patreon.c...
Apr 13, 2025•33 min•Season 3Ep. 33
Series 3 continues with another prominent public-facing linguist, only this time we're travelling back in time, to Ancient Rome! My guest is Luke Ranieri, a linguist, a language teacher and the YouTuber behind the popular platforms polýMATHY and ScorpioMartianus . Luke took a break from activities as diverse as teaching for The Ancient Language Institute , speaking Latin on Vatican Radio, and flying helicopters, to talk to me about the Latin language – and what was so good about the era of C...
Mar 24, 2025•55 min•Season 3Ep. 32
We're back! The first episode of an all-new series of the language-loving podcast is here at last. Since one of the co-stars of the hit podcast Lingthusiasm concluded the second series, it seemed only right that the other co-star should kick off the third. Gretchen McCulloch – linguist, podcaster and author of Because Internet – joins me to navigate the linguistic complexities of Canada, specifically in the city of Montreal. This episode is part sociolinguistic survey, part survival guide for ho...
Mar 09, 2025•46 min•Season 3Ep. 31
Hello there, dear language lovers! After a couple of months, I'm pleased to say that I'm getting back into the swing of linguistic podcasting, and that means that A Language I Love Is... will soon be returning! While I get the first few episodes ready for airing, here's a teaser for the third series of the show, featuring some expert voices that you can look forward to, as well as some additional annoucements from me. For fans and subscribers of the show, I'd like to express sincere thanks for b...
Feb 27, 2025•5 min
ALILI has reached episode 30 and the end of two whole series! To mark the occasion, the show has the privilege to host a star of public linguistics, Dr. Lauren Gawne, one of the two fabulous co-hosts of the hit podcast Lingthusiasm. Lauren is here to lead the show into a new part of the world and a new language family, namely Yolmo, a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Nepal. Lauren takes us through the modern state of the language, her profound connection to it, and the grammatical phenomenon of ...
Dec 01, 2024•43 min•Season 2Ep. 30
Episode 29 is here at last, and a certain language is making a repeat appearance, but introduced by a new linguistic lover – what does Colin Gorrie have to say about Old English? We chat the basics of Old English and what makes it so 'old', before getting into how Colin teaches the language, and why he recommends it as a springboard for further linguistic adventures. Find the details about the brilliant new Osweald Bera book here: https://ancientlanguage.com/osweald-bera/ Check out and subscribe...
Oct 20, 2024•53 min•Season 2Ep. 29
Dydh da! Episode 28 of ALILI is here, and Daniel Prohaska joins me to discuss Cornish! This Celtic language has a long and fascinating history, stretching back to Roman Britain. It's a story not only of slow decline, but also of resurrection. Daniel was the ideal expert to introduce it, being involved in modern efforts to revitalise and popularise Cornish for the twenty-first century. Daniel's professional website: https://www.ryan-prohaska.com/ Daniel's Cornish website: https://kernowekbew....
Sep 01, 2024•59 min•Season 2Ep. 28
Time for Episode 27 and a return to the Slavic languages! Unsurprisingly, Croatian is a Slavic language widely spoken in the modern-day country of Croatia, but did you know that it has many speakers in eastern Austria too? Burgenland Croatian is the starring language of this episode, beloved and chosen by Dr Katharina Tyran. As one of its native speakers and researchers, Katharina is the ideal person to introduce the past, present and future of this minority language. Katharina's University of V...
Aug 04, 2024•55 min•Season 2Ep. 27
Episode 26 is a first for the show: a language so old that it's theoretical! This time, ALILI is discussing the whole Germanic language family, from English to Icelandic, since this episode's starring language is the family's common ancestor: Proto-Germanic. This prehistoric point of origin is the choice of my guest, Yoïn van Spijk, expert etymologist and Dutch dialectologist. Thanks to him, I get to chat linguistic reconstruction, language change and some underappreciated Finnish connections. G...
Jul 14, 2024•57 min•Season 2Ep. 26
Episode 25 is here and it's a return to the Finno-Ugric languages with expert linguist Daria Zhornik. The particular member of Finno-Ugric is Mansi (specifically Northern Mansi), spoken in two regions of Russia. Daria both documents and researches this language, and so is full of good information about its history, genealogy, current status, future, and its speakers' very particular and periphrastic ways of talking about animals... Check out Daria's website here: https://dariazhornik.github.io...
Jun 23, 2024•52 min•Season 2Ep. 25
Episode 24 of ALILI is a return to India, this time to dive into Marathi, the official langauge of the state of Maharashtra and India's third-largest language. My guest is Manish Goregaokar, a software engineer and a real expert on language and writing. We discussed history, geography, society, phonology and vocabulary, as well as Manish's personal experience of speaking Marathi alongside other languages. Manish's Twitter: https://x.com/ManishEarth Sample of spoken Marathi from here: https://...
Jun 10, 2024•50 min•Season 2Ep. 24
This is an episode of ALILI with a twist, as Dr Jackson Crawford, YouTube's charming Old Norse expert, had me back on his channel to chat syntax, old languages and public linguistics. Chatting to him and his Patreon supporters was a real treat for me, both to share the ideas of my recent PhD work, and to get his perspective on the state and future of linguistics online. I hope you enjoy these excerpts from our chat! Jackson's stellar YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@JacksonCrawford Jacks...
May 27, 2024•49 min•Season 2Ep. 23
For episode 22, we're travelling high into the Alps, to join linguist and translator Emma Gledhill in the Graubünden/Grisons canton of Switzerland. Emma's chosen language is Romansh, the distinct Romance language of the region that, despite its endangered and disunited state, nonetheless holds the status of one of Switzerland's four official languages. Emma leads us through the origins, history and social standing of Romansh, as well as some delightful bits of vocabulary. Emma's Twitter: https:...
Apr 28, 2024•40 min•Season 2Ep. 22
For episode 21, ALILI becomes A Language We Love Is , as two guests, Alba Clopés and Joey Barber, join me to chat Catalan. Our conversation ranges from its Latin origins to ongoing efforts to build up popular usage of the language. Through the phonology, orthography, morphology, history and sociolinguistics of Catalan, you can see why Alba and Joey share a passion for this Romance language. Sample of spoken Catalan by Ona, from here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WIKITONGUES-_Ona_spea...
Apr 14, 2024•42 min•Season 2Ep. 21
ALILI has reached 20 episodes! The twentieth beloved language is P'urhepecha, a language of Mexico introduced by Dr. Kate Bellamy. Kate enthusiastically takes us through the geography, history, morphology and lonely genealogy of P'urhepecha, as well as the reasons why it deserves to be better known outside Mexico. Kate's Leiden page: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/kate-bellamy#tab-1 Kate's Academia.edu page: https://leidenuni.academia.edu/KateBellamy Spoken example of P'ur...
Mar 31, 2024•42 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Episode 19 sees the show's first returning guest, as the maestro of Indo-Iranian languages, Dr. Sāmapriẏa Basu, joins me again, this time to introduce Kashmiri. Beginning with its geographical and political situation, our conversation explores the many distinct features of Kashmiri that, for Sāmapriẏa, make it a 'linguist's language'. Sample of spoken Kashmiri by Aakriti Khaibri, available here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WIKITONGUES-_Aakriti_speaking_Kashmiri.webm Sāmapriẏa's won...
Mar 17, 2024•50 min•Season 2Ep. 19
The third episode of this second series is a Biblical bonanza, as Dr Benjamin Suchard comes on the show to introduce the linguistic world of Biblical Hebrew. We discuss the language's history, its family tree, its layer of loanwords and external influences, and how human this holy language can be. Benjamin's website: https://bnuyaminim.wordpress.com/ Benjamin's Academia page: https://kuleuven.academia.edu/BenjaminSuchard Host: Danny Bate Guest: Dr Benjamin Suchard Music: Bossa Nova by Willia...
Mar 03, 2024•50 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Episode 17 of ALILI is a linguistic and historical voyage into the Bulgarian language, as Vienna's Leonid Motz guides us through the language's many ingredients, far-reaching connections, and membership of the Balkan Sprachbund . To hear more from Leonid: His Twitter: https://twitter.com/ulaantenger His podcasting performance with Jeremy Bradley: https://www.recet.at/podcast/detail/episode-37-minority-languages-in-russia Host: Danny Bate Guest: Leonid Motz Music: Bossa Nova by William_King A...
Feb 25, 2024•49 min•Season 2Ep. 17
ALILI is back for a second series! Here's episode 16 with Jeremy Bradley, who takes us on a journey into the Mari language. This is a linguistic tour de force, surely the episode that mentions and discusses the most languages, from Estonian to Indonesian. Jeremy's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chi_con_carnage The Mari website: https://mari-language.univie.ac.at/ Host: Dr Jeremy Bradley Guest: Danny Bate Music: Bossa Nova by William_King Artwork: William Marler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...
Feb 18, 2024•52 min•Season 2Ep. 16
It's episode 15 and the finale of the first series of ALILI ! To mark the occasion, the tables have been turned and your usual host now finds himself on the receiving end of the format he created, as Krishnan Ram-Prasad rejoins the show to interview me about the amazing Old Irish language. We dive into what this language is, who spoke it, who wrote in it, and why it's terrifying at first but actually rather wonderful. Books to get you started! - Sengoidelc by David Stifter: https://press.syr.ed...
Dec 10, 2023•48 min•Season 1Ep. 15
It's time for the fourteenth and penultimate episode of the first series of ALILI , in which Gioia Cacchioli joins me to talk about Tigrinya, a Semitic and syntactically striking language of eastern Africa. Gioia introduces the language, its family tree, its word-building, its use of the Ge'ez script, and how she came to love Tigrinya. Here's Gioia's website: https://gioiacacchioli.com/ The word of the episode: abugida ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abugida ) Host: Danny Bate Guest: Gioia C...
Nov 26, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 14
Here's episode 13 and it's all about Welsh! Victoria Noble, a PhD researcher in the semantics of Welsh and Arabic, joins me to share her enthusiasm and admiration for the Welsh language, discussing both its cool linguistic features and the difficult details of its history. Note from Victoria: the annual population survey mentioned at 8:02 is from 2023, not 2003. You can find Victoria on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/LinguisVic Host: Danny Bate Guest: Victoria Noble Music: Bossa Nova by William...
Nov 19, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 13
For episode 12, I popped along to Charles University in Prague, to interview Dr Radek Šimík, a linguist, lecturer and researcher there, and to talk all about the local language: Czech. The topics ranged from the history of Czech and its dialects, to the influences of German and a special bit of syntax, which made for a great discussion. You can find Radek's personal website here . Host: Danny Bate Guest: Dr Radek Šimík Music: Bossa Nova by William_King Artwork: William Marler Hosted on Acast. Se...
Nov 12, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Episode 11 of ALILI sees us back beside the Baltic Sea, where Dr Francis Young guides us into the story of Lithuania and the Lithuanian language. Francis discusses both history and prehistory in detail, and joyously shares some rather wrong ideas that people have held about the origin of this Indo-European language. To learn more from Francis, here's his website and Twitter . Host: Danny Bate Guest: Dr Francis Young Music: Bossa Nova by William_King Artwork: William Marler Hosted on Acast. S...
Oct 29, 2023•44 min•Season 1Ep. 11
ALILI has made it to ten episodes, and this tenth instalment is a suitably sensational journey into the linguistic and cultural cosmos of Persian. Alexander Jabbari joins me to talk about this influential language, and demonstrate why Persian is a hugely important yet surprisingly accessible global tongue. Alexander's website and Twitter . Host: Danny Bate Guest: Dr Alexander Jabbari Music: Bossa Nova by William_King Artwork: William Marler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...
Oct 22, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Episode 9 is here and it's all about Mexico! The wonderful Gilly Marchini, a PhD researcher at Edinburgh, guide us into the linguistic landscape of Mexico and its particular variety of Spanish, and into the practice of linguistic fieldwork and documentation. Gilly's passion and principles combine to make for a fun and fascinating look at Mexican Spanish. Gilly's website can be found here: https://gillymarchini.wordpress.com/ Host: Danny Bate Guest: Gilly Marchini Music: Bossa Nova by William_Kin...
Oct 15, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 9
