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The Allusionist

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A PODCAST ABOUT LANGUAGE
BY HELEN ZALTZMAN

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The Allusionist

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Allusionist 187. Bonus 2023

December 24, 2023 The Allusionist

It's our annual end of year parade of all the extra good stuff this year's podguests talked about, including a mythical disappearing island, geese, human dictionaries, the dubious history of the Body Mass Index, Victorian death department stores, and much more.

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In episodes Tags etymology, vocabulary, history, Caetano Galindo, Susie Dent, Lindsay Rose Russell, Aubrey Gordon, Dean Vuletic, Evie King, Cariad Lloyd, Griefcast, Hy-Brasil, myths, legends, islands, Ireland, Victorians, Georgians, death, 19th century, funerals, mourning, grief, grieving, posthumous, dead bodies, bodies, fat, anti-fatness, anti-fat, bias, medical, BMI, Body Mass Index, body positivity, eugenics, families, family, estrangement, Brazilian, brasileiros, Portuguese, wood, brazilwood, trees, dictionaries, walking dictionary, sleeping dictionary, gender, geese, goose, weaving, renaming, denaming, cremation, aquamation, ashes, burial, composting, graves, clothes, shopping, Brookwood Cemetery, Surrey, five stages of grief, Jay’s, Regent Street, London, jet, jewelry, Elizabeth Kubler Ross, street names, school names, John La Rose, Richmond, Virginia, Australia, K’Gari, Hobart, Macquarie Street, Tasmania, petitions, Toronto, Rob Ford, Michaelmas, Alfred Hitchcock, Daphne Du Maurier, Rebecca, rebeca, cardigan, turtlenecks, lexicography, Adolphe Quetelet, Quetelet’s Index, Ancel Keys, Francis Galton, drapetomania, hysteria, Eurovision Song Contest, Eurovision, nul points, zero, French, Brazil, Brasil, gossamer, pavage, text, textile, clothing, bonus, bonus episode

Allusionist 175. Eurovision part 2

April 21, 2023 The Allusionist

Oh, you thought the Eurovision Song Contest was about songs? Or a fun international TV event that brings people together in lots of different countries? Or watching extremely vigorous dance numbers? OK, it is, but it's also about some pretty thorny language-related politics. Historian Dean Vuletic, author of Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest, discusses Eurovision's many linguistic controversies, and the ways the contest has been exploited politically - and caused political kick-offs too.

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In episodes Tags words, language, society & culture, arts, history, Eurovisionallusionist, Dean Vuletic, singing, songs, tv, television, broadcasting, geography, politics, political, Eurovision Song Contest, European, Europe, pop, music, European Broadcasting Union, EBU, European Broadcasting Area, ESC, public broadcasters, controversy, governments, human rights, protests, national languages, dictators, dictatorships, Azerbaijan, English language, Belgium, Kosovo, Serbo-Croation, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovenian, Croatia, Yugoslavia, former Yugoslavia, Albania, Belarus, Balkans, Ukraine, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Armenia, Vladimir Putin, rules, technology, Mongolian, Crimea, Crimean Tatars, war, conflict, KGB, Italy, referendum, divorce, urinant

Allusionist 174. Eurovision part 1

April 7, 2023 The Allusionist

There aren't many multilingual, multinational television shows that have been running for nearly seven decades. But what makes the Eurovision Song Contest so special to me is not the music, or the dancing, or the costumes that range from spangletastic to tear-off: no, it's the people butting heads about language. Historian Dean Vuletic, author of Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest, recounts the many changes in Eurovision's language rules, and its language hopes and dreams.

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In episodes Tags etymology, words, language, society & culture, arts, history, Dean Vuletic, singing, songs, tv, television, broadcasting, geography, politics, political, Eurovision Song Contest, European, Europe, pop, music, ABBA, Waterloo, Volare, Italian, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, France, Spain, Spanish, Norway, Sweden, Malta, English, Italy, United Kingdom, UK, Welsh, Wales, Australia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Flemish, Walloon, Israel, Hebrew, Finland, Netherlands, European Broadcasting Union, EBU, European Broadcasting Area, ESC, public broadcasters, latitude, longitude, multilingual, polyglot, bloc voting, francophone, national languages, Breton, controversy, Domenico Modugno, 20th century, 1950s, radio, portmanteau, portmanteaux, Serge Gainsbourg, Marc Chagall, rules, constructed languages, conlang, soccer, technology, ruelle, Eurovisionallusionist

Allusionist 34: Continental

April 15, 2016 The Allusionist

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I'm not usually one to yearn for the past, but today, trying to find a clear definition for what a continent is, I find myself thinking, "Pangaea. One single continent. That was a simpler time."

Plus: more 'please'. Following the previous episode, listeners from several continents have contributed their local experience of 'please' usage, in what eventually will surely be considered the definitive global study of human niceties. Also, Lynne Murphy and Rachele De Felice return to explain how 'thank you' is not necessarily an expression of gratitude.  

TL;DR: trust nothing.

READING MATTER:

  • Yeah but come on, what IS a continent? Anyone?

  • How the continents - whatever the hell they are - got their names.

  • Learn about Pangaea and Panthalassa, so you’re prepared when the next supercontinent shows up.

  • How and why non-European countries can compete in the Eurovision Song Contest.

  • Cincinnati Please.

  • “This is a shocked pair of girls who have just heard the apologetic U.S. soldier say that he looked like a bum. In English slang, he said he looked like his own backside.” Thanks to listener Mike for sending me this 1942 advice for Americans visiting Britain. So many linguistic obstacles for transatlantic travel(l)ers!

  • There's a transcript of this episode at theallusionist.org/transcripts/continental.

RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
rowel

CREDITS:

  • Linguist and 'please' investigator Lynne Murphy's blog is separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com and she is @lynneguist on Twitter. Rachele De Felice is @racagain on Twitter.

  • This episode was produced by me, Helen Zaltzman, with music by Martin Austwick. Martin's continental drift-inspired instrument-free instrumental was the result of combining boredom, Garageband for iPad and all the homemade percussion options offered by a B&B room in Utah.

- HZ

In episodes Tags words, language, etymology, linguistics, history, Latin, Ancient Greek, Greek, Greek gods, Greek goddesses, Greek myth, mythological figures, mythology, deities, Gaia, Uranus, Oceanus, Okeanos, water, ocean, sea, Pangaea, Alfred Wegener, geology, geological, geography, geographical, geopolitics, geopolitical, Guernsey, continents, continence, continental drift, continental, continental plates, continental breakfast, Eurovision Song Contest, rowel, Earth, please, thank you, thanks, gratitude, Lynne Murphy, Rachele De Felice, politeness, manners, behaviour, behavior, contain, Amasia, Zaltzpatch, portmanteaux, Bombas, Squarespace, Urkontinent, you're welcome, Minnesota Nice, Cincinnati Please
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Allusionist 27: Bonus 2015

December 23, 2015 The Allusionist

Throughout the year, I've been stockpiling your requests for etymologies, and for the last episode of 2015, here are some answers! Ever wondered about the correct plural of 'octopus', who was the original nemesis, or whether 'picnic' is racist?

There's also a sprinkling of anecdotes there wasn't room for in the show earlier this year. Prepare for Klingon, acid trips, Cliff Richard, and Michael Palin's cock.

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In episodes Tags words, language, phrases, etymology, bullshit, history, songs, songwriting, drugs, sex, cocks, genitals, audio description, Michael Palin, Bridesmaids, Klingon, Star Trek, Elvish, Dothraki, invented languages, Nate DiMeo, The Memory Palace, racist terms, racist, marriage, portmanteaux, portmanteau terms, Ancient Greek, ancient languages, Greece, Greek gods, Greek, Latin, nemesis, nimrod, bible, Noah, Cliff Richard, Eurovision Song Contest, picnic, fired, bucolic, pith, pithy, dictionaries, Bugs Bunny, Greek goddesses, acid, illywhacker, bonus episode, bonus
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Allusionist Patreon
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feed bullshit
Allusionist 208: Ffff
Allusionist 208: Ffff
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several bits of news! (nothing bad)
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Allusionist 207: Randomly Selected Words from the Dictionary
Allusionist 207: Randomly Selected Words from the Dictionary
Allusionist 206. Bonus 2024
Allusionist 206. Bonus 2024
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Allusionist 205. Lexicat, part 2: now with added Dog
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Allusionist 204. Lexicat, part 1
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Allusionist 203. Flyting
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Allusionist 202: Singlish Singlish
Allusionist 202: Singlish Singlish
Allusionist 201: Singlish
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Tranquillusionist: Ex-Constellations
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Allusionist 200: 200th episode celebratory quiz!
Allusionist 200: 200th episode celebratory quiz!
Creative Commons Licence
The Allusionist by Helen Zaltzman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.