How does language evolve from generation to generation? What factors shape the way we communicate? Professor Kenny Smith sits down to chat to PhD student Maisy Hallam about his work in our latest episode. Image Listen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsListen on Media HopperListen on YouTubeThis episode's guestsProfessor Kenny SmithKenny's work focuses on the evolution of language and the human capacity for language. He is particularly interested in how languages are shaped by their repeated learning and use, and how this cultural evolutionary process in turn shapes the cognitive capacities underpinning language learning.Maisy HallamMaisy is a second year PhD student working in the Centre for Language Evolution. Her research looks at typological regularities in kinship terminology with a view to understanding how linguistic and cultural pressures encourage particular relatives to be categorised together.Related linksProfessor Kenny SmithCentre for Language EvolutionStudy Linguistics at the University of EdinburghLinguistics research at the University of Edinburgh This article was published on 2024-10-14
