Linguistics Behind the Scenes

What can laughter teach us about language? | Cartoons and fun stories in linguistics

In this animated episode of Linguistics Behind the Scenes, Christina and Dominic explore how creative cartoons, comic strips and children’s shows can teach us about language, communication, cognition and learning itself. - How does a curious mouse turn science into storytelling? - Why do comic strips, from Peanuts to XKCD, make such powerful teaching tools? - How can greeny green aliens help us understand how humans categorize the world? - In what way do rubber ducks reveal that we often use language without thinking too much about it? From “Die Sendung mit der Maus” to Dr. Seuss, from Calvin and Hobbes’ unexpected wisdom to XKCD’s scientific wit, the hosts show how humor helps us understand language and makes learning fun. Full episode transcript available here: https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode22 This podcast episode is based on the following article: Sanchez-Stockhammer, Christina. 2010. Comic linguistics: Comics and cartoons in academic teaching. In Mark Berninger, Jochen Ecke & Gideon Haberkorn (eds.), Comics as a nexus of cultures, 274-281. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. Mentioned in this episode: - Käptn Blaubär - Die Sendung mit der Maus - Sesame Street - Mr Rogers‘ Neighbourhood - The secret of Zoe’s dice (Viererkniffel): „Sendung mit der Maus“ episode with voiceover by Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer and her students. https://www.wdrmaus.de/extras/maus_international/englisch.php5. [8:20 min]

What is a "salad salad"? | Copies, quotes, and plagiarism

In this duplicative (but never dull) episode of Linguistics Behind the Scenes, Christinaand Dominic explore the fascinating world of copying – from plagiarism tophotocopies, and from fairy tales to “salad salad.”   What’s the difference between copying and plagiarizing? Why does “plagiarism” literally mean kidnapping? How faithful must a quotation really be – down to fonts,hyphens, and [sic]s? What does it take for a sentence to be brand new?   From academic ethics to oral storytelling, from deep-friedmemes to fairy-tale memory, our hosts unpack how imitation, repetition, andreduplication shape language, learning, and culture – showing that even a copycan be an original in its own right.   Full episodetranscript available here: https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode20 [https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode20]   Full article available to read for free here: Copy and write: Thetransformative power of copying in language. By Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer. https://heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/catalog/view/195/260/78629 [https://heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/catalog/view/195/260/78629].   Mentioned in this episode: - Ray Bradbury. 1953.Fahrenheit 451. - James Joyce.1920. Ulysses. - Unusualsentences: https://www.reddit.com/r/BrandNewSentence/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/BrandNewSentence/] - Jila Ghomeshiet al. 2004. Contrastive Focus Reduplication in English (The Salad-SaladPaper). In: Natural Language &Linguistic Theory 22, 307–357 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:NALA.0000015789.98638.f9 [https://doi.org/10.1023/B:NALA.0000015789.98638.f9]

Can a robotic arm lose face? | The linguistics of politeness

In this futuristic episode of Linguistics Behind the Scenes, Christina and Dominic investigate how we talk to machines – and what our language reveals about the way we see them. - Do we treat AI and robots like tools, teammates… or something in between? - Where did the insult “clanker” come from – and why might it stick? - Can robots have “face,” even without feelings? - What makes a request sound polite? - Why are humans typically less polite to robots than to other people? From Star Wars battle droids to robotic vacuum cleaners, from imperative commands to indirect requests, our hosts explore the evolving etiquette of human–machine interaction and why it matters how we speak to AI. Full episode transcript available here: https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode20 Full article available to read for free here: Do we mitigate face-threatening acts even when communicating with faceless robotic arms? Politeness strategies in human–robot vs. human–human interaction. By Sasha Genevieve Coelho, Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer, Sascha Kaden, Marina Beccard and Florian Röhrbein. https://jalis.uni-ruse.bg/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/JALIS_2026_Issue-6_Manuscript04_Coelho_et_al.pdf Mentioned in this episode: The Jetsons. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055683/

Does punctuation matter? | To hyphenate or not to hyphenate

In this episode, Christina and Dominic make a point of exploring the tiny dots and lines that we find in writing. They uncover the history, humor, and hidden powers of punctuation marks – especially the humble hyphen with its many functions. - Is it possible to write a text without spaces? - Who brought punctuation to English from outside? - Why must we “respect the hyphen” in Spider-Man? - How does a tiny dash express identity and avoid ambiguity? From ancient wax tablets to telegrams ending in STOP, from #nowthatchersdead to four-letter words full of asterisks, our hosts trace how punctuation shapes meaning and even multicultural belonging. This episode underscores the importance of the tiny marks that often pass unnoticed. Full episode transcript available here: https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode19 Full article available to read for free here: Present-day English hyphenation: Historical origin, functions and pragmatics. By Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer. https://doi.org/10.60687/2026-0016 Mentioned in this episode: - Respect the Hyphen. https://www.reddit.com/r/RespectTheHyphen/ - Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/structure - Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/structure

Are you working hard or hardly working? | Adverbs and data visualization

In this adverbially adventurous episode of Linguistics Behind the Scenes, Christina and Dominic dig deep into one of grammar’s dustiest drawers: the adverb category, which combines such different words as "here", "happily", "very", and around. - What’s the difference between “working hard” and “hardly working”? - Why do linguists call adverbs a “dustbin” category? - What are the three main types of adverb (plus one small miscellaneous pile)? - How can data visualization with the software R help us sort the chaos? Along the way, the hosts call attention to the dangers of misleading graphs and reveal how visualization can help with data analysis and the communication of research results.   Full episode transcript available here: https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode18 [https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode18]   Full article available to read for free here: The subcategorization of English adverbs: A feature-based clustering approach. By Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer and Antony Unwin. https://doi.org/10.60687/2025-0169 [https://doi.org/10.60687/2025-0169].   Mentioned in this episode: - the software “R”: https://www.r-project.org/ [https://www.r-project.org/] - Antony Unwin: Graphical Data Analysis with R: http://www.gradaanwr.ne [http://www.gradaanwr.ne]