Language
What the Songbird Said. Audio, 28 minutes
Angela Saini explores the science of birdsong and its relationship to human language.
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Unavailable
Word of Mouth. Young Women as Linguistic Innovators. Audio, 28 minutes
Michael Rosen and Laura Wright discuss the role of young women in language innovation.
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Available for over a year
The Why Factor. Jargon. Audio, 18 minutes
Why do we use jargon?
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
Short Cuts. Series 7, The Conversation. Audio, 30 minutes
Josie Long hears stories of intimate conversations - including the 'dual form'.
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Available for over a year
This is Me Totally Sausage. Audio, 30 minutes
Henning Wehn looks at the difficulties of speaking and understanding English.
- AttributionBBC Radio 4 Extra
- Available for over a year
Analysis. You Can't Say That. Audio, 30 minutes
Is there a right to cause offence? Edward Stourton explores the limits of free expression.
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Available for over a year
Out of the Ordinary. Series 3, Esperanto. Audio, 28 minutes
Jolyon Jenkins explores Esperanto, the language designed to bring world peace and harmony.
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Available for over a year
A History of Ideas. Barry Smith on Noam Chomsky and Human Language. Audio, 13 minutes
Philosopher Barry Smith on Noam Chomsky and human language
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Available for over a year
The Essay. Shaping the Air - Writers and Radio, Shaping the Air - Writers and Radio: Samuel West. Audio, 15 minutes
Actor Samuel West explores the art of performance and declarative language.
- AttributionBBC Radio 3
- Available for over a year
Dr Hepcat and the Hepster's Dictionary. Audio, 30 minutes
Poet Lemn Sissay tells the story of Cab Calloway and his Hepster's Dictionary of jive talk
- AttributionBBC Radio 4 Extra
- Available for over a year
The Digital Human. Series 6, Language. Audio, 30 minutes
Aleks Krotoski asks if language is a technology and how it has changed in the digital age.
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Available for over a year
Germany: Memories of a Nation. Fairy Tales and Forests: The Grimms and Caspar David Friedrich. Audio, 15 minutes
Neil MacGregor on how the Grimms and painter Caspar David Friedrich shaped German identity
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Available for over a year
Germany: Memories of a Nation. Luther and a Language for All Germans. Audio, 15 minutes
Neil MacGregor examines how Luther created the modern German language.
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Available for over a year
The Forum. Multilingualism. Audio, 28 minutes
The advantages and disadvantages of speaking more than one language.
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Available for over a year
The Essay. Samuel Beckett - Happy Days, Lost in Translation. Audio, 15 minutes
Director Netia Jones on the relationship between words and music in Samuel Beckett's work.
- AttributionBBC Radio 3
- Available for over a year
The Listeners. Series 2, Episode 1. Audio, 28 minutes
Four individuals discuss the part languages and words play in their working lives.
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Available for over a year
The Essay. Homage to Caledonia, Homage to Caledonia: The Language of the Scots. Audio, 15 minutes
Writer and comedian AL Kennedy celebrates the language of Scotland.
- AttributionBBC Radio 3
- Unavailable
The Why Factor. Accents. Audio, 18 minutes
What do our accents say about us? Why do they matter?
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
The Why Factor. Diplomacy. Audio, 18 minutes
How to get ahead in diplomacy, from negotiations to polite language and secret code words
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
The Essay. Dylan Thomas Centenary, Tracing Dylan's Pathway. Audio, 15 minutes
Gwyneth Lewis takes a personal journey through the language of Dylan Thomas.
- AttributionBBC Radio 3
- Available for over a year
The Why Factor. Swearing. Audio, 18 minutes
Why some words have such power to shock and offend
- AttributionBBC World Service
- Available for over a year
Four Thought. Series 4, Language Is Power. Audio, 15 minutes
Lindsay Johns says language is power, and makes the case for speaking English properly.
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Available for over a year
Ecce! Fife! or Rediscovering the Lost Latin of Fife. Audio, 30 minutes
School kids in Fife are learning Latin for the first time. Natalie Haynes investigates.
- AttributionBBC Radio 4
- Available for over a year
