How much can you say with 100 words? | Phrasebooks as keys to new languages

How much can you say with 100 words? | Phrasebooks as keys to new languages

In this travel-ready episode of Linguistics Behind the Scenes, Christina and Dominic ask a deceptively simple question: if you could learn only 100 words of a language, which ones would you choose? - Which words are essential when you're travelling – and which can you live without? - Can a phrasebook really help you communicate with just 100 words? - How do you express complex ideas when your vocabulary is tiny? - Are phrasebooks just practical tools, or the first step toward language learning? Explore the art of saying more with less, and discover how even a handful of carefully chosen words in Christina’s phrasebook can open the door to meaningful communication in Spanish. Full episode transcript available here: https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode23 Find out more about Christina’s phrasebook “Langenscheidt – Schnell mitreden – Spanisch” here: https://www.langenscheidt.com/shop/detail/019db329f6b070c69ffa4fa0d0462e12

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