Because Language - a podcast about linguistics, the science of language.

136: These Languages Are Anchors (with Mary Walworth)

April 25, 2026·2h 10m
Episode Description from the Publisher

What will happen to the languages of climate refugees? Dr Mary Walworth has been working with the small island community of Nusi in Papua New Guinea, which was recently featured in an episode of Pole to Pole with Will Smith. What's it like doing media for a large audience, and more importantly, how do we help speakers hold onto their language? Dr Walworth joins us for this episode. Timestamps 00:00 Start 00:45 Intros 04:00 What's coming up on this episode 06:58 New patron shoutout and spruik 09:05 News: Air Canada CEO resigns over English communication 14:34 News: Banning foreign language election information in the UK 23:54 News: Can LLMs pass the Wug Test? 34:03 News: Does closing your eyes help you hear better? 39:48 Related or Not: Theme 40:23 Related or Not: GORGE, ENGORGE, and GORGEOUS 48:09 Related or Not: ANY and MANY 51:54 Related or Not: GUAVA, GUACAMOLE, GUARANÍ, GUARANÁ 01:00:20 Interview with Mary Walworth 01:45:52 Word of the Week: bimbofication 01:54:00 Word of the Week: glottophobia 01:55:50 Word of the Week: liveness check 01:57:54 Comment from Colin: CLAN and PLANTA 01:59:03 Comment from Lauren: crash blossoms 02:02:49 The Reads 02:08:09 Outtake

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