Blog Archives

Podcast episode 32: Leonard Bloomfield and behaviourism

In this episode, we discuss the leading American linguist Leonard Bloomfield and his connections to the psychological school of behaviourism and the philosophical doctrines of logical positivism.

Posted in Podcast

Podcast episode 31: The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

In this episode, we explore the historical background to linguistic relativity or the so-called ‘Sapir-Whorf hypothesis’.

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Podcast housekeeping April 2023

This clip is a brief audio update on what’s been happening with the podcast, and what’s going to happen in the next few months.

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Podcast episode 30: Interview with Andrew Garrett on Alfred Kroeber

Alfred Kroeber and Ishi

In this episode we talk to Andrew Garrett about the life, work and legacy of American anthropologist Alfred Kroeber. Kroeber achieved a number of firsts in American anthropology: he was Boas’ first Columbia PhD and the first professor of anthropology

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Podcast episode 29: Interview with Marcin Kilarski on the study of North American languages

Masthead of the Cherokee Phoenix

In this interview, we talk to Marcin Kilarski about the history of the documentation and description of the languages of North America.

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Podcast episode 28: Franz Boas and the Boasians

Franz Boas

In this episode, we begin our exploration of American linguistics by looking at the innovative contributions of Franz Boas (1858–1942) and his circle of students.

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Podcast episode 27: Interview with Peter Trudgill on sociolinguistic typology

John Sell Cotman – Mousehold Heath (1810)

In this interview, we talk to Peter Trudgill about how the structure of speaker communities may influence the structure of languages.

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Podcast episode 26: Interview with Philipp Krämer on creoles and creole studies

Street sign

In this interview, we talk to Philipp Krämer about the history of the study of creole languages and present-day efforts to standardise creoles around the world.

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Podcast episode 25: Interview with Felicity Meakins on contact linguistics

Gurindji kids

In this interview, we talk to Felicity Meakins about Pidgins, Creoles, and mixed languages. We discuss what they are, and how they are viewed in both linguistic scholarship and in speaker communities.

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Podcast episode 24: Interview with Lorenzo Cigana on the Copenhagen Circle

Louis Hjelmslev

In this interview, we talk to Lorenzo Cigana about Louis Hjelmslev and the Copenhagen Linguistic Circle.

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Upcoming events

28-30 June 2023
Faro, Portugal
International Inter-association (History of Language Teaching) Conference
Language teachers, methodologies and teacher training in historical perspective

4-6 September 2023
Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
2023 Annual Colloquium of the Henry Sweet Society
What counts as scientific in the History of Linguistics?

6-9 September 2023
Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
XXXII. International Colloquium of the “Studienkreis ‘Geschichte der Sprachwissenschaft'” (SGdS)
Controversies in the history of linguistics