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You've probably heard of Pig Latin, or ig-Pay atin-Lay, where you bring the initial consonants to the end of the word and add -ay. But what about the inverse, where you bring the final consonants to the beginning of the word and add -ay? gay-Pi nay-Lati? In theory, it should be just as easy. In practice, the second one is way more difficult for your brain. But why?
This bonus episode of Lingthusiasm talks about language play! Games like Pig Latin, the Gibberish/Obbish family, rhyming slang, and the surprisingly old French Verlan may seem like childish fun or ways of keeping secrets, but they're also linguistically fascinating. Pulling language apart, even in play, can expose how our minds put it together in the first place.
We also talk about fun board games for linguists, from IPA Scrabble to Taboo. To listen to Bonus #6 and previous bonus episodes, support Lingthusiasm on Patreon!
