#lsa2018

We did an interview episode on fellow linguistics podcast @vocalfriespod at the annual meeting of the Linguistic Society of America, talking about Australian and Canadian English. Check it out on The Vocal Fries channel! 

no, the “jury” or people behind LSA already selected saba qamar as the winner (regardless of if Saba has one vote or the majority of votes). the voting system is bull shit, as viewers we never actually get to the see the statistics and even if we did they’d probably be rigged (as the drama TRPs are).

As much as I adore Sajal, Saba deserved to win over Sajal for both O Rangreza and YKS. Saba acted every emotion possible in Baaghi to perfection. You can tell she literally sold her soul to do justice to the character of Fouzia/Kanwal. Secondly, considering the international outcry after the death of Qandeel Baloch, if Saba or Baaghi didn’t win LSA would have faced a lot of criticism. Thirdly, Baaghi was the most watched Pakistani drama online (ever) throughout its 28 weeks on air.  While, O Rangreza’s rating has been declining and YKS didn’t get popular towards the second half. And while there is so much love for Zobia and Asfandyar online, it mainly reached the internet-savy fangirl audience, while Baaghi was watched by all age groups. There was so much curiosity towards Baaghi and its portrayal of Qandeel Baloch from the get-go. Finally, Sajal did great in O Rangreza but she wasn’t extraordinary in YKS (we’ve seen her in this get-up and character before tbh). Long story short, Saba Qamar’s winning is no surprise but i get it Sajal’s cute and talented af so its a bit bitter-sweet for me also.

–

Mahira is the brand ambassador of Lux at a Lux event and people thought Mehwish Hayat might actually win lmaoooo 

Linguistics in the Public Ear: Outreach via Podcasts and Radio panel at LSA 2018

We were very pleased to bring together a range of linguistics podcasts and hosts at the annual meeting of the Linguistic Society of America this weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah. Here’s our panel description from the program: 

More and more people are listening to linguistics as they exercise, commute to work, or do household chores. The number of Americans who listen to podcasts has doubled since 2013, and a growing number of these podcasts are about linguistics. Being able to download an episode to your phone or computer, listen to it anywhere (often while doing something else with your hands), and even pause and come back to it, has created a surge in the popularity of audio. Even radio programs have been putting their shows online to attract more listeners after airing. While language is often a popular topic on general interest shows, there are now enough dedicated linguistics podcasts that we've put together a whole panel of them for the first time in LSA history.

This panel brings together the hosts of both well-established and up-and-coming linguistics podcasts, which combined reach hundreds of thousands of listeners around the world. The podcasts encompass a wide range of formats: some also exist as radio shows while others run entirely on the internet; their run times range from 4 minutes, to 30 minutes, to a full hour; and their institutional support ranges from public radio, to private podcasting networks, to solo enterprises funded by listeners. Their founding dates range from radio in 1998, the first podcast wave in 2006-2009, and the second podcast wave in 2012-2016. Hosts range from academic linguists with a commitment to public outreach to professional communicators with a commitment to doing the research.

The panel is of interest to a variety of levels, from linguists who were barely aware that podcasts even existed and now want to get the lay of the land, to dedicated podcast listeners who want to get a glimpse behind the scenes. Panelists will provide practical advice about starting one's own podcast, being an effective guest on an existing podcast to share one's research, linguistics podcasting as a career path, and using podcasts in the linguistics classroom, as well as broader take-home messages about effective linguistics public engagement in general. 

Although a few speakers ran into weather issues and had to send in their contributions remotely, it all came together in the end! Here’s a link to all the podcasts, in order of appearance, with cohosts who weren’t present in parentheses:  

Grammar Girl, Mignon Fogarty 

Lexicon Valley, John McWhorter  

The Allusionist, Helen Zaltzman

That’s What They Say, Anne Curzan 

The World in Words, Nina Porzucki (with Patrick Cox)

Talk the Talk, Daniel Midgley (with Ben Ainslie and Kylie Sturgess)

Lingthusiasm, Lauren Gawne and Gretchen McCulloch 

A Way with Words, Grant Barrett (with Martha Barnette)

We were also excited to have at the panel The Vocal Fries (Megan Figueroa and Carrie Gillon) which didn’t even exist when we were putting the panel together. It’s great to see the linguistics podcast sphere continue to grow! 

Honestly, very disappointed.

 It’s just very telling that award shows have a long way to go before they display any kind of credibility. How a movie, a performance, that created no social or public impact gets Best Actress award is beyond my comprehension. Well.. I mean, it’s not all that difficult to understand since one is a Lux girl….. and the other ranks surprisingly low in the industry hierarchy even after giving so many hits… 

To think PNJ took away Best Film, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actor, and Best Director! lol it’s allll very shady… 

Wypipo