The Teeming Mass: Lexis Podcast: A Different Way of Engaging with Linguistics

Podcasts about language are not new, from ‘Lingthusiasm, presented by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne, to The History of English Podcast, presented by Kevin Stroud, people have been discussing language through podcasts for a while. However, in amongst the chaos and confusion of the Coronavirus Pandemic, a new language and linguistics-based podcast has emerged. Lexis Podcast, hosted by self-titled enthusiasts Jacky Glancey, Dan Clayton, Lisa Casey and Matthew Butler, first began broadcasting in June 2020 and since then, things have just kept getting more interesting. It’s comprised of two segments, the first discussing language and the news of the previous week, the second interviewing a linguist. All episodes of the podcast so far can be found on Twitter through @LexisPodcast or on Spotify under ‘Lexis’. In the words of Lisa Casey, “Linguistics is a great field to be in”, and Lexis Podcast clearly showcases the diversity of the subject and its importance in day-to-day life.

The first section explores the relevance of language and linguistics in its discussion of news or other notable events from the previous week. A variety of topics have been explored in this part of the podcast, including; the Black Lives Matter movement, Dominic Cummings’ trip to Durham during lockdown and the sacking of Salford and Eccles MP Rebecca Long-Bailey. When discussing Rebecca Long-Bailey, the presenters discussed how different media outlets chose to report on the incident, comparing headlines from The Guardian, “Rebecca Long-Bailey Sacked From Labour Shadow Cabinet By Keir Starmer”, and The Daily Mail, “Starmer Reignites Labour Civil War”, the second of which doesn’t actually mention her at all. The section highlights the relevance of linguistics in everyday life, providing a helpful summary of the news of the week and giving a language-based perspective on the news.

The second part of the podcast is interview-based, with different linguists, such as Dr Rob Drummond and Professor Devyani Sharma, talking about their work. Each interviewee is invited to discuss some of their research and how it interacts with wider society, showing how the work of linguists has an impact on the community and reinforcing the idea that linguistics is relevant for anyone and everyone. In the second episode, Dr Rob Drummond discusses his work in a Manchester Pupil Referral Unit as well as The Accentism Project, a project aiming to raise awareness of and challenge linguistic discrimination, giving people who have experienced accentism the opportunity to share their stories. This gives the listener an insight into each linguists’ work and seems especially useful for those studying English Language at A Level, as many of the interviewees are familiar names and their work has relevance to what students are covering in class. To finish, each interviewee is asked three quick-fire questions about their favourite linguistics book and fact, and advice they would give to budding linguists, giving listeners additional ways of developing their understanding of the area.

Life has changed a lot in a short space of time, but one thing lockdown gave me was time, so much time I didn’t know what to do with it. So, I made time for podcasts and discovered a whole new way of engaging with a subject I care about. Lexis Podcast offers a different way of learning more about language and linguistics, one which is flexible and accessible, a good way of supplementing classwork for A Level students and one which couldn’t be more underutilised. One of the best pieces of advice I received studying Spanish A Level was ‘hear the language’, listen to music, the news, anything which lets you listen outside of the classroom. A podcast could have easily been substituted here, and if I had any advice for anyone starting Sixth Form in 2020, it would be to find a podcast and LISTEN!