23: When nothing means something

Published: Aug. 16, 2018, 11:50 p.m.

b'When we think about language, we generally think about things that are visible or audible: letters, sounds, signs, words, symbols, sentences. We don\\u2019t often think about the lack of anything. But little bits of silence or invisibility are found surprisingly often throughout our linguistic system, from the micro level of an individual sound or bit of meaning to the macro level of sentences and conversations. \\n\\nIn this episode of the podcast that\\u2019s enthusiastic about linguistics, your hosts Lauren Gawne and Gretchen McCulloch get enthusiastic about four different kinds of linguistic nothings: silence in between turns, silence in between sounds, invisible units of meaning, and invisible words. (Officially known as turntaking, glottal stops, zero morphemes, and traces.) \\n\\nWe also announced some details about our upcoming liveshow! Our last liveshow was in Montreal where Gretchen lives, so it\\u2019s only fair that our next official show is in Lauren\\u2019s hometown of Melbourne! It\\u2019ll be sometime in November. Stay tuned for the exact date and venue - you can sign up for Lingthusiasm email updates if you want to be sent it directly: bit.ly/LingthusiasmEmailList \\n\\nGretchen will also be around for the Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language Summer School in Canberra and the annual Australian Linguistics Society conference in Adelaide. If anyone else in Australia wants to invite her to anything in November or early December 2018, now\\u2019s your chance! \\n\\nThis month\\u2019s bonus episode was an inside view into the linguistics conference circuit which Lauren and Gretchen are recently returned from, featuring emoji, gesture, and the International Congress of Linguists! Support the show on Patreon to get access to this and all 18 bonus episodes. patreon.com/lingthusiasm \\n\\nFor the full shownotes with links to everything mentioned in this episode, go to https://lingthusiasm.com/post/177070997956/lingthusiasm-episode-23-when-nothing-means'