Rochelle Del Borrello

Copywriter and content creator based in Sicily, Italy

[rochelledelborrello]

The other day, I asked my young son about friendship. I said, "If you are friends with someone and don’t see them for a long time, are you still friends? Even though you aren’t in contact? Can you still be friends?" 

He immediately responded, of course, you are still friends. 

But then added rather wisely. But it also depends on the other person if they think you are still friends, you are friends. 

Continue reading my end of year round-up of things to share over coffee on rochelledb.substack com.

 A list of what I've been watching, listening, reading and thinking about this month.

#142 Things to share over coffee: December 2024

A list of what I've been watching, listening, reading and thinking about this month.

[superlinguo]

Linguistics and Language Podcasts

Looking for podcasts about language and linguistics? Here’s a comprehensive list with descriptions! I’ve also mentioned if shows have transcripts. If there are any I missed, let me know!

Linguistics

Lingthusiasm A podcast that’s enthusiastic about linguistics by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne (that’s me!). Main episodes every third Thursday of every month, with a second bonus episode on Patreon. (Transcripts for all episodes)

Because Language Every week Daniel, Ben, and Hedvig cover the news in linguistics and tackle a particular topic. (previously Talk the Talk) (Transcripts for all episodes after release)

The Vocal Fries Every episode Carrie Gillon & Megan Figueroa tackle linguistic discrimination in relation to a particular group. (Transcripts for some episodes)

En Clair A podcast about forensic linguistics from Dr Claire Hardaker at Lancaster University. Episodes released monthly, with a range of topics from criminal cases to literary fraud. (Transcripts for all episodes)

Language on the Move Conversations about linguistic diversity in social life. (Transcripts for some episodes)

Said & Done A podcast about languages and the people who speak them, from the Columbia LRC

Accentricity From Sadie Durkacz Ryan, a lecturer in sociolinguistics at Glasgow University. Season one has six episodes.

All About Accents A podcast all about accents with linguist and accent coach Dani Morse-Kopp in conversation with her partner Lucas Morse. 

Tomayto Tomahto Led by Talia Sherman, a Brown University undergrad, this interview-based podcast explores language.

Field Notes Martha Tsutsui Billins interviews linguists about their linguistic fieldwork. (Transcripts for all episodes)

History and Philosophy of the Language Sciences sub-30 minute episodes about the history of linguistics from James McElvenny, with the occasional interviews.

Lingua Brutalica Jess Kruk and Wes Robertson take on the world of extreme metal.

Say It Like You Play It A podcast about games, language and culture.

The Language Revolution Changing UK attitudes to languages.

The Secret Life of Language An interview podcast from the University of Melbourne’s School of Languages and Linguistics.

JSLX Conversations Podcast A podcast produced by the Journal of Sociolinguistics. (Transcripts for all episodes)

Lexis A conversation about linguistics with a topical UK focus, from Matthew Butler, Lisa Casey, Dan Clayton and Jacky Glancey.

Kletshead A podcast about bilingual children for parents, teachers and speech language therapists from Dr. Sharon Unsworth. Also in Dutch.

Linguistics Lounge A podcast about language and discourse with Tony Fisher and Julia de Bres. Transcripts for all episodes.

CorpusCast from Dr Robbie Love, available alongside other shows in the Aston University podcast feed or in video format.

Life and Language Michaela Mahlberg chats with her guests about life and why language matters.

Toksave – Culture Talks A podcast from the PARADISEC Archive, where the archived records of the past have life breathed back into them once again.

Theory Neutral Covering typology and descriptive grammars with Logan R Kearsley.

PhonPod Podcast Interview-based podcast about phonetics and phonology.

Linguistics Careercast A podcast devoted to exploring careers for linguists outside academia.

Language

The Allusionist Stories about language and the people who use it, from Helen Zaltzman (Transcripts for all episodes) (my review).

Grammar Girl Episodes are rarely longer than 15 minutes, but they’re full of tips about English grammar and style for professional writing, and more! (Transcripts for all episodes).

A Language I Love Is… A show about language, linguistics and people who love both. An interview-based podcast hosted by Danny Bate.

Word of Mouth BBC Radio 4 show exploring the world of words with Michael Rosen.

America the Bilingual Dedicated to the pursuit of bilingualism in the USA.

Words & Actions A podcast about how language matters in business, politics and beyond.

Subtitle A podcast about languages and the people who speak them, from Patrick Cox and Kavita Pillay. For those who miss Patrick’s old podcast, The World in Words.

The Parlé Podcast from Canadian Speech-Language Pathologist Chantal Mayer-Crittenden.

Slavstvuyte! A podcast for everyone who is fascinated by Slavic languages from Dina Stankovic.

Subtext A podcast about the linguistics of online dating.

Conlangs

Conlangery Particularly for those with an interest in constructed  languages, they also have episodes that focus on specific natural  languages, or linguistic phenomena. Newer episodes have transcripts.

Linguitect Matt, Rowan and Liam explain linguistic topics and talk about how to build them into your conlang.

Dictionaries

Word For Word From Macquarie dictionary, with a focus on Australian English.

Fiat Lex A podcast about making dictionaries from Kory Stamper & Steve Kleinedler. One season.

Word Matters From the editors at Merriam-Webster, hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski. 

English

Unstandardized English Interview-based podcast. Disrupting the language of racism and white supremacy in English Language Teaching.

History of English Meticulously researched, professionally produced and engaging content on the history of English. (My reviews: episodes 1-4, episodes 5-79, bonus episodes).

Lexicon Valley Hosted by John McWhorter.

That’s What They Say Every week linguist Anne Curzan joins Rebecca Kruth on Michigan public radio for a five minute piece on a quirk of English language.

A Way With Words A talk-back format show on the history of English words, cryptic crosswords and slang.

Words/etymology

Something Rhymes With Purple Susie Dent and Gyles Brandreth uncover the hidden origins of language and share their love of words.

Telling our Twisted Histories Kaniehti:io Horn brings us together to decolonize our minds– one word, one concept, one story at a time.

Word Bomb Hosts Pippa Johnstone and Karina Palmitesta explore one word per week, using particular words for a deep dive into linguistic and social issues. (Transcripts for all episodes)

Words for Granted In each episode Ray Belli explores the history of a common English word in around fifteen minutes.

Lexitecture Ryan, a Canadian, and Amy, a Scot share their chosen word each episode.

Bunny Trails Shauna and Dan discuss idioms and other turns of phrase.

Translation & Interpreting

Brand the Interpreter Interviews about the profession, from Mireya Pérez.

The Translation Chat Podcast a podcast on Japanese to English media with Jennifer O’Donnell, and translators and editors in the Japanese to English localization.

In Languages other than English

Parler Comme Jamais A French language podcast from Binge Audio.Monthly episodes from Laélia Véron.

Sozusagen A German language podcast of weekly 10 minute episodes.

Talking Bodies A German language podcast about speech, gesture and communication.

Registergeknister A German language linguistics podcast of the Collaborative Research Center 1412 at the Humboldt University of Berlin.

Språket A Swedish language podcast from Sveriges Radio about language use and change.

Språktalk A Norwegian language podcast with Helene Uri and Kristin Storrusten from Aftenposten.

Klog på sprog A Danish language podcast that playfully explores the Danish language.

Kletshead A Dutch language podcast about bilingual children for parents, teachers and speech language therapists from Dr. Sharon Unsworth. Also in English.

Over taal gesproken A Dutch language podcast from the Institute for the Dutch language and the Dutch Language Society.

BabelPodcast A Portuguese language podcast from Brazil, hosted by Cecilia Farias and Gruno.

El Racionalista Omnívoro a Portuguese language podcast about linguistics, history, cinema, literature and more, hosted by Antonio Fábregas.

War of Words A Spanish language podcast about linguistics from Juana de los Santos, Ángela Rodríguez, Néstor Bermúdez and Antonella Moschetti.

Con la lengua fuera A Spanish language podcast from Macarena Gil y Nerea Fernández de Gobeo.

Hablando mal y pronto A Spanish language conversational podcast from Santiago, Juan and Magui.

Rhapsody in Lingo Cantonese podcast on language and linguistics.

Back Catalogue

These are podcasts that had a good run of episodes and are no longer being produced.

Spectacular Vernacular A podcast that explores language … and plays with it Hosted by Nicole Holliday and Ben Zimmer for Slate. Transcripts available. 19 episodes from 2021 and 2022.

Science Diction a podcast about words—and the science stories behind them. Hosted by Johanna Mayer, this is a production from WNYC Science Friday. 42 episodes from 2020-2022.

Troublesome Terps The podcast about the things that keep interpreters up at night. 70 episodes from 2016-2022.

The World in Words From PRI, episodes from 2008-2019.

How Brands are Build (season 1 of this show focuses on brand naming)

Very Bad Words A  podcast about swearing and our cultural relationship to it. 42 episodes from 2017 and 2018.

The Endless Knot is not strictly a language podcast, but they often include word histories, linguistics podcast fans episode may find their colour series particularly interesting.

Given Names (four part radio series from 2015, all about names. My review)

Odds & Ends

There are also a number of podcasts that have only a few episodes, are no longer being made, or are very academic in their focus:

The Black Language Podcast Anansa Benbow brings you a podcast dedicated to talking about Black people and their languages. Five episodes from 2020.

Speculative Grammarian Podcast (from the magazine of the same name, about 50 episodes from Dec 2009-Jan 2017)

Linguistics Podcast (on YouTube, around 20 episodes in 2013 introducing basic linguistic concepts)

Evolving English: Linguistics at the Library (8 episodes 2018), from the British Library.

Language Creation Society Podcast (8 episodes, 2009-2011)

LingLab (very occasionally updated podcast from graduate students in the Sociolinguistics program at NC State University)

Hooked on Phonetics five episodes from Maxwell Hope from 2019 and 2020.

Glossonomia Each episode is about a different vowel or consonant sound in English. 44 episodes from 2010-2014.

Distributed Morphs An interview-based podcast about morphology, from Jeffrey Punske. Eight episodes in 2020.

Word to the Whys a podcast where linguists talk about why they do linguistics. Created by TILCoP Canada (Teaching Intro Linguistics Community of Practice). 10 episodes in 2020 and 2021.

The Weekly Linguist An  interview podcast about the languages of the world and the linguists who study them from Jarrette Allen and Lisa Sprowls. 21 episodes in 2021.

Silly Linguistics (ad hoc episode posting, but episode 7 is an interview with Kevin Stroud for History of English fans)

Linguistics After Dark Eli, Sarah and Jenny answer your linguistics questions in hour-ish long episodes.

WACC Podcast (guest lectures at Warwick Applied Linguistics)

Sage Language and Linguistics

Let’s Talk Talk

Queer Linguistics has a couple of episodes, with a bit of classroom vibe

GradLings An occasionally-updated podcast for linguistics students at any stage of study, to share their stories and experiences.

Canguro English A podcast about language for people learning languages. 103 episodes from 2018-2021.

Why is English? A podcast about how the English language got to be the way it is, from Laura Brandt. Seven episodes from 2020 and 2021. 

Animology Vegan blogger Colleen Patrick Goudreau uses her love of animals as a starting point for exploring animal-related etymologies. 27 episodes from 2017-2020.

Wordy Wordpecker Short weekly episodes from Rachel Lopez, charting the stories of English words. 14 episodes from 2018.

Speaking of Translation A monthly podcast from Eve Bodeux & Corinne McKay. 10 episodes from 2020-2021.

Se Ve Se Escucha (Seen and Heard) Language justice and what it means to be an interpreter, an organizer and bilingual in the US South, from the Center for Participatory Change. Episodes from 2020.

This is an updated listing from December 2024. I’m always excited to be able to add more podcasts to the list, so if you know of any linguistics/language podcasts not here, please let me know! I wait until a show has at least 5 episodes before I add it to the list, and I like to let people know when transcripts are available.

[superlinguo]

The 2024 update to the Linguistics and Languages podcast list!

Click through to the original post to see the latest version.

[rochelledelborrello]

Whether you’re going from autumn to winter or spring to summer, I hope you take a moment to appreciate the smells, tastes, and sounds of the changing seasons in your part of the world because there’s something magical in that cycle.

It’s comforting to know, see, and understand the natural rhythms of the world.

Enjoy the season.

Read more in my full post at rochelledb.substack

#135 Enjoying the seasons

So whether you’re going from autumn to winter or spring to summer, I hope you take a moment to appreciate the smells, tastes, and sounds of

[rochelledelborrello]

I love the idea that musical tastes are random. We discover music through endless sources, such as the radio, the internet, family, friends, lovers, and experiences. There is no wrong way to discover new types of music. We can never listen to everything, so the journey through music, like life itself, is distinctive and beautiful.

I hope you are enjoying the joy of music in your life.

Let me know what you are listening to now and what I should hear.

Read my thoughts on accidentally discovering different kinds of music in my latest Substack post.

#134 Accidental music

How life leads you to randomly discover music.

[rochelledelborrello]

Do you think it's possible to actually forget your first language?

I've been asked several times if I've become so integrated into Italian life that I might forget. After all, I've spent half my life in Australia and the other half in Sicily.

I haven’t forgotten English. Sometimes, I forget a word in Italian and only have the English word in my head. Other times, the Italian word will come, and I will lose the English equivalent. The two languages seem to shift and move within my mind and come to me as needed.

Read my thoughts on language in my latest Substack post.

#133 A question of language

Can you ever forget your first language?

[rochelledelborrello]

Every time I return to Sicily after spending some time home in Australia, I have another level of appreciation for Italy.

Certain times of the day create a special kind of sunlight, and the landscape and cityscape offer textures and sounds that only exist in this part of the world.

Being away makes you forget the subtle things. The same can be said when I go back to Australia after a while in Sicily; there is so much that I forget.

Read and subscribe

#130 The power of observation

Details from Sicily

[rochelledelborrello]

Over the years, I have gone from being belittled for my accent to not even being considered for work as a cleaner in public schools to being a sought-after source of intellectual and social prowess.

Before Covid hit Italy, I had become quite a hot commodity in the local community. I was hired as an English expert to teach and write the curriculum for school projects in local schools. Parents would pay me to teach their children an introductory course in English. In a few weeks, I went from nothing to a ‘cara Maestra’ or ‘collega’.

I also had dozens of private students whose parents were forcing them to attend one-on-one lessons. There were so many bored and confused young kids and teenagers. 

It’s been a bizarre ride, that’s for sure. I’m constantly amazed at the ups and downs of life as an unlikely foreigner in Italy.

Read more about it in this week's free newsletter on Substack. 

#128 Fashionable English

This week in Sicily: an update from me in Sicily

[rochelledelborrello]

We are in Sicily, so the sun is never too far away. The next day after the storm, the neighbourhood kids are still out and about in the vaneddi.

They make as much noise as they sprint around the alleyways and side paths. But now, since most of the tourists have gone, the children are the only source of confusion, which we don't mind too much. 

They can happily ride their bikes and monopattine scooters, make a ruckus chasing one another talking too loud as they make appointments to meet after lunch. 

They call their Nonna every time they disagree and exult like Ronaldo with a big Surrh after a goal in their soccer game. Or shout' e Viva Santu Liu' just like the men who carry the patron saint statue of Leo as they run him across the bridge for the festa. 

The children racing up and down the streets cheer a hoorah to Saint Leo as they battle and challenge one another to the finish line. 

These are the everyday sights and sounds of the end of summer. Soon, even the children will return to school, so these casual rendezvous will become less frequent and eventually hibernate in the winter.

#126 Back in Sicily while still thinking about Australia

We returned at the end of the summer, when the paese was still filled with tourists.

[rochelledelborrello]

Hello, 

Sorry that I've been absent lately apart from the odd Instagram story. 

I'm trying to ease my way back into things after one very long hot Summer and an intensely busy almost blurry visit back home to Australia.

I have plenty of work to do so I am trying to begin with getting back to my weekly newsletter. 

For a free letter from me in Sicily every week go over and subscribe at rochelledb.substack.com

Speak again soon.

Rochelle

#125 Gathering my thoughts, ideas and found wisdom

easing my way back into it

[rochelledelborrello]

Una passeggiata

Hello friend, I’ve been taking a little mental health break this past week, resting, trying to relieve the unbelievable amount of stress I manage to put upon myself and resting. Let’s talk more about mental health in general because these are complex and difficult times, and everyone has their struggles. We need to normalise taking the time to rest, practice self-care, cook good meals, listen…

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[rochelledelborrello]

Come take a walk around my Sicilian town to see those little things that spark joy.

#121 Una passeggiata

Taking the time to walk through my Sicilian paese and feel grateful.

[rochelledelborrello]

[rochelledelborrello]

Saint Leo rests in the tiny medieval church on Via Umberto Primo for a few hours in the afternoon. 

The Chiesa del Convento is where I usually go to early-morning Sunday mass, but today, I realised I had never gone when Saint Leo is having his little procession pausa. 

So today, I walked down to the end of my street and sat briefly with Saint Leo. It was remarkable to have a quiet moment of reflection and prayer while sitting close to this life-size statue of the saint. 

# A reflection on Patron Saints

I am a big fan of patron Saint celebrations in Sicily, followed closely by food festivals, celebrating valuable food and cultural traditions

[rochelledelborrello]

Remember to send my your questions about Italy

I’ve been posting my answers to some of your questions about Italian culture and travel here, which has been fantastic, everyone seems to be enjoying them. I am nearly finished with the latest batch of questions but I haven’t been getting many more questions lately so I thought I’d simply remind you to send me more. They can be about anything small or random, I don’t mind. I want to…

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[rochelledelborrello]

The language question in Italy

Hello Friend, As I have mentioned before, I’ve asked everyone to send me any questions they may have about visiting Italy or anything they are curious to know about the culture. This week, I’m continuing to share some of the most interesting questions and my responses with you. If you have any questions, please drop me a line at mail to: [email protected] and I will get back to you…

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[rochelledelborrello]

The other day, I was talking to a lady I had known since moving to Sicily, which is now over 20 years ago, and I realised that even though I would consider her a little more than an acquaintance, I know a disturbing amount about her life.

Living within the community, you become a part of people's lives, and they, in turn, are part of yours, whether you like it or not.

#117 All my friends business

I've been thinking a lot about the art of making friends as an expat living in Italy. I've written before about my difficulties with making

[rochelledelborrello]

This week, I got another question from one of my readers about friendships in Italy, specifically male and female friendships.

While I have already looked at the concept of creating new friendships in Italy as an expat, I think the idea of male and female relations is a whole separate subject to cover.

I have struggled to understand it and am still navigating, but try as I can, I still haven't made many good friends, let alone a single male friend. 

Read more in my post.

#116 Men and women in Italy

This week, I got another question from one of my readers about friendships in Italy, specifically male and female friendships.