Blog Archives

Podcast episode 55: Janette Friedrich

Janette Friedrich, portrait

In this interview, we talk to Janette Friedrich about her research and career.

Posted in Podcast

Podcast episode 54: Neil Cohn on Speaking in Pictures

Speaking in Pictures cover

In this interview, Neil Cohn tells us about his theory that visual art and spoken language draw on the same underlying cognitive abilities.

Posted in Podcast

Podcast episode 53: Paul Kiparsky on Pāṇini

Panini stamp India 2004

In this interview, Paul Kiparsky introduces us to the ancient Indian grammarian Pāṇini and the philosophical significance of his grammatical description of Sanskrit.

Posted in Podcast

Podcast episode 52: Gereon Müller on Lanes to Language

Cover of Lanes to Language

In this interview, Gereon Müller discusses his new book Lanes to Language, which unites the worlds of history of linguistics and cycling.

Posted in Podcast

Podcast episode 51: Martin Haspelmath

Portrait of Martin Haseplmath

In this interview, Martin Haspelmath talks about how he got started in linguistics, the rise of large-scale areal typology in the 1990s, language description vs language comparison, and the current state of the field.

Posted in Podcast

Podcast episode 50: Gerda Haßler

Gerda Haßler portrait

In this interview, Gerda Haßler discusses her career in Romanistik and the history of linguistics in the DDR and re-united Germany.

Posted in Podcast

Podcast episode 49: Fritz Newmeyer

Fritz Newmeyer passport photo

In this interview, Fritz Newmeyer discusses linguistics, history of linguistics, and politics.

Posted in Podcast

Podcast episode 48: A History of Modern Linguistics

Covers of "A History of Modern Linguistics" and "Entstehung und Entwicklung der modernen Linguistik"

In this interview, Randy Harris interviews James McElvenny about his recent book A History of Modern Linguistics.

Posted in Podcast

Podcast episode 47: Geoff Pullum on Geoff Pullum

Geoff Pullum on the keyboard

In this interview, we talk to Geoff Pullum about his career, his contributions to linguistics, and how he sees the future of the field.

Posted in Podcast

Podcast episode 46: Philip Kraut on Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

A page from Jacob Grimm's Nachlass

In this interview, we talk to Philip Kraut about the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, their scholarly contributions and political engagement.

Posted in Podcast

Upcoming events


17–20 March 2026
Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona (Spain)
XV Congreso Internacional de la Sociedat Española de Historiografía Lingüística
Prescriptivism and descriptivism from the peripheries


23–25 March 2026
Montpellier (France)
Asian Languages in the History of Lexicography


2-4 September 2026
Nottingham (UK)
Henry Sweet Society Colloquium 2026
(Non-)Native Speakers in the History of Linguistic Ideas


10-11 September 2026
Fribourg (Switzerland)
The Prague Linguistic Circle in Geneva and Paris: Circulations and Decenterings


19-21 November 2026
Sofia (Bulgaria)
La linguistique ‘fonctionnelle’ cent ans après la fondation du Cercle linguistique de Prague


23-27 August 2027
Niterói, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
ICHoLS XVII