Bonus 66: Using a rabbit to get kids chatting for science (Patreon)

If you're looking to try to figure out how kids talk, you might start by asking them some questions, or showing them a picture and trying to get them to talk about it. The problem is, sometimes kids are shy or not accustomed to answering direct questions from strangers, so these methods can underestimate them. A linguist named Bill Labov had a different idea: what if he brought a live rabbit into a school, told the kids that the rabbit was nervous but would calm down if they talked to it, turned the recorder on, and then left the room? Maybe kids who weren't comfortable talking to a teacher or researcher would feel more relaxed and chatty with a furry friend. (Spoiler: it worked!)

In this bonus episode, Lauren and Gretchen get enthusiastic about a forgotten gem of a linguistics paper about a rabbit! We talk about how Linguistics Twitter got excited about tracking down this paper based on a vague rumour, Labov's history of coming up with unique ways to record language in more natural environments (Anyone want to write a linguistics mystery novel called From Death to Department Stores?), and useful takeaways about how to talk with children (Tired: questions you already know the answer to. Inspired: respecting kids as peers). Plus: the name of the rabbit (Vincent) and the broader educational context that this paper was written in. 

Announcements 

We're doing a new special offer for patrons very soon, and if you're reading this, you're already at the right tier to receive our ~mysterious surprise~. Stay tuned for more details in the next week or two... 

Here are the links mentioned in this episode:

• Betsy Sneller's original tweet asking about the paper 
• Bill Labov in Crash Course Linguistics
• Linguist name pronunciation guide 
• William Labov's French Wikipedia entry 
• The paper has been found! Announcement on Twitter 
• Finding Out About Children's Language by William Labov 

You can listen to this episode on this page, via the Patreon RSS or download the mp3. A transcript of this episode is available as a Google Doc. Lingthusiasm is also on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Email us at contact [at] lingthusiasm [dot] com or chat to us on the Patreon page. Gretchen is on Twitter as @GretchenAMcC and blogs at All Things Linguistic. Lauren is on Twitter as @superlinguo and blogs at Superlinguo.

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Lingthusiasm is created by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne. Our senior producer is Claire Gawne, our production editor is Sarah Dopierala, our production assistant is Martha Tsutsui Billins, and our production manager is Liz McCullough. Our music is ‘Ancient City’ by The Triangles.