A Language I Love Is...

Chitimacha and Daniel W. Hieber

The final episode of Series 3 is here, and we're ending with a good'un. Daniel W. Hieber, the linguist behind the popular ⁠Linguistic Discovery⁠ platform, joins me to discuss an indigenous language of North America: Chitimacha. In cooperation with the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, Daniel is contributing to the revitalising of this dormant language – which is gifting him so much in return. We discuss the history and prehistory of Chitimacha and its speakers, as well as intriguing parts of its grammar and the leading role it has played in the development of modern linguistics.Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out and sign up to Linguistic Discovery: ⁠https://linguisticdiscovery.com/⁠ (also on Substack, Instagram, YouTube)Sample of Chitimacha, by speaker Chief Benjamin Paul, provided by Daniel.Continue learning with the Chitimacha Wikipedia page: ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitimacha⁠Daniel's personal website: ⁠https://www.danielhieber.info/⁠Host: Dr. Danny BateGuest: Dr. Daniel W. HieberAudio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPaddenMusic: Acoustic Guitar by William KingArtwork: Willow Marler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Modern Irish and Liam Ó Duibhiolla

Dia daoibh, language lovers! Episode 44 is here and it sees a return to the Irish language (Gaeilge), but this time with a focus on its modern shape and story. In this regard, the episode forms a trio with episodes 39 (Scottish Gaelic and David Adger) and 15 (Old Irish and Danny Bate – that is, me, your host). Modern Irish was the choice of guest Liam Ó Duibhiolla, a speaker and teacher of Irish. Liam is the founder of the platform ⁠Learn Irish Online⁠. Our chat touches on his work and how it fits into a recent uptick for the language, after two very difficult centuries. Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs⁠⁠⁠ Learn Irish online and find out more about Liam's work here: ⁠https://www.learnirishonline.com/⁠ Sample of Irish, by speaker Mairéad Uí Lionáird (reading the first paragraph of Mo Sgéal Féin) from here: ⁠https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MSF_chapter_1.ogg⁠ Host: Dr. Danny BateGuest: Liam Ó DuibhiollaAudio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPaddenMusic: Acoustic Guitar by William KingArtwork: Willow Marler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Italian and Sophia Smith Galer

As 2025 ticks out its final hours, here’s one last episode of ALILI for the year, and it’s buonissimo! Journalist, author, content creator and linguist Sophia Smith Galer joins me to share the love for Italian. Our conversation has a focus on the sociolinguistic dynamics of Italian, namely how this national language fits into the lives of speakers up and down the peninsula, and how it might be harming the other languages of Italy in the process. Sophia also shares her personal relationship with Italian, as a ‘heritage language’ of hers that she is now working to promote in London.Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs⁠⁠Sophia’s splendid website: ⁠https://www.sophiasmithgaler.com/⁠Pre-order How to Kill a Language here: ⁠https://www.sophiasmithgaler.com/how-to-kill-a-language⁠ Sample of Italian (by speaker Sebastiano) from here: ⁠https://wikitongues.org/videos/sebastiano_20131103_ita/⁠Host: Dr. Danny BateGuest: Sophia Smith GalerAudio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPaddenMusic: Acoustic Guitar by William KingArtwork: Willow Marler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Old Norse and Jackson Crawford

'Hi, I'm Old Norse specialist Dr. Jackson Crawford' – so begin the YouTube videos with the smooth-talking, stetson-wearing scholar, discussing ancient languages in the scenic Rocky Mountains. To pay Jackson back for having me on ⁠his channel⁠ three times (most recently ⁠here⁠), I gladly hosted him on ALILI. Hence, this forty-second episode is all about Old Norse – what it is, who spoke it, where it came from, and what it became.Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs⁠⁠Get your copy of the translated Poetic Edda here: ⁠https://hackettpublishing.com/the-poetic-edda-expanded-second-edition⁠Jackson's YouTube channel: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@JacksonCrawford⁠Host: Dr. Danny BateGuest: Dr. Jackson CrawfordAudio Mixing and Mastering: Jeremiah McPaddenMusic: Acoustic Guitar by William KingArtwork: Willow Marler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SPECIAL: Exclusive clip from my new book 'Why Q Needs U'!

Hot on the heels of Episode 40 (American Sign Language with Aidan Elliott-McCrea), I can release a special episode of ALILI, showcasing the audio edition of my new book! 'Why Q Needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them' was published on October 2nd, before which I undertook both its writing and its narrating as an audiobook. For this special, I've been given the first chapter of that audiobook (Chapter A) to share with you. It kicks off the story of the alphabet in Egypt, then takes you as far as the islands of Greece. The full audiobook is widely available on popular platforms like Spotify and ⁠Audible⁠. If you give it a listen, do let me know!Official link to the book here: ⁠https://geni.us/WhyQNeedsU⁠More info and reviews here: ⁠https://dannybate.com/book/⁠Support the language-loving mission by joining the ALILI Patreon here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/ALanguageILoveIs⁠⁠⁠Host: Dr. Danny BateMusic: Acoustic Guitar by William KingArtwork: Willow Marler Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.