Dr Danny Bate
@dannybate.bsky.social
"That etymology guy". Linguist, broadcaster (formerly on Czech Radio), writer, researcher, language fanatic. Get 'Why Q Needs U' here: https://geni.us/WhyQNeedsU. Host of ALILI podcast. Website: https://dannybate.com/. Inquiries: [email protected]
Pinned
Dr Danny Bate
@dannybate.bsky.social
· Oct 15
Why does Q always need a U? A quirky guide to the alphabet
The letter A was once an ox’s head and O was an eye — you’ll never look at a keyboard the same way after reading Danny Bate’s fascinating linguistic history
www.thetimes.com
The Times, specifically @jamesmcconnachie.bsky.social, has in this joyful review kindly bestowed on my book Britain's highest description: "lovely"
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
Happy World Linguistics Day from Montreal, Canada!
(I wonder how many different places we can get world linguistics day wishes from this year!)
(I wonder how many different places we can get world linguistics day wishes from this year!)
Happy World Linguistics Day from Melbourne, Australia!
November 26, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Happy World Linguistics Day from Montreal, Canada!
(I wonder how many different places we can get world linguistics day wishes from this year!)
(I wonder how many different places we can get world linguistics day wishes from this year!)
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
If our recent interview with @dannybate.bsky.social about Proto-Indo-European got you excited about reconstructing languages, there's more!
Check out this episode from the archives on more proto-languages and what we can and cannot know about ancient peoples from comparing modern languages:
Check out this episode from the archives on more proto-languages and what we can and cannot know about ancient peoples from comparing modern languages:
45: Tracing languages back before recorded history
Lingthusiasm Episode 45: Tracing languages back before recorded history
Language is much older than writing. But audio and visual cues from sounds and signs don’t leave physical traces the way writi...
lingthusiasm.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:34 PM
If our recent interview with @dannybate.bsky.social about Proto-Indo-European got you excited about reconstructing languages, there's more!
Check out this episode from the archives on more proto-languages and what we can and cannot know about ancient peoples from comparing modern languages:
Check out this episode from the archives on more proto-languages and what we can and cannot know about ancient peoples from comparing modern languages:
Just descended from the top of North Berwick Law, which gave me the chance (eagerly seized) to tell my wife about the word 'law' – no relation to the legal word, but rather from Old English hlǣw 'mound'. That makes it an English/Scots word with a 'lost H', as discussed in a recent article...
November 25, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Just descended from the top of North Berwick Law, which gave me the chance (eagerly seized) to tell my wife about the word 'law' – no relation to the legal word, but rather from Old English hlǣw 'mound'. That makes it an English/Scots word with a 'lost H', as discussed in a recent article...
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
A real cris de couer from @dannybate.bsky.social
I reckon if @susiedent.com told us to spell realise as realize, we might listen
I reckon if @susiedent.com told us to spell realise as realize, we might listen
November 25, 2025 at 2:09 PM
A real cris de couer from @dannybate.bsky.social
I reckon if @susiedent.com told us to spell realise as realize, we might listen
I reckon if @susiedent.com told us to spell realise as realize, we might listen
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
![R. H. Bing (October 20, 1914 – April 28, 1986)[1] was an American mathematician who worked mainly in the areas of geometric topology and continuum theory.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cyyd366g3hrxp5rynixm2mm3/bafkreid62wy3dekb2kzbisjfdlimlb35j4rlgew5iof7vi32byfszmg26a@jpeg)
![Bing's father was named Rupert Henry, but Bing's mother thought that "Rupert Henry" was too British for Texas. Thus she compromised by abbreviating it to R. H.[5] Consequently, R. H. does not stand for a first or middle name.
When Bing was applying for a visa, he was requested not to use initials. He explained that his name was really "R-only H-only Bing", and ended up receiving a visa made out to "Ronly Honly Bing".](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cyyd366g3hrxp5rynixm2mm3/bafkreigmfj53q4uy33spga2bxdkllqm3ag5sffovg5g7ddmu3vqzkb6k24@jpeg)
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
My talk about learning Latvian as a native speaker of English - discussed: why streets have no beginnings in English, the mysteries of the letter "ķ", is Latvian very literal or is English just weird, and much else...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XQi...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XQi...
Learning Latvian as a native English-speaker - Will Mawhood
YouTube video by Valodu māja - House of Languages
www.youtube.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:11 PM
My talk about learning Latvian as a native speaker of English - discussed: why streets have no beginnings in English, the mysteries of the letter "ķ", is Latvian very literal or is English just weird, and much else...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XQi...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XQi...
Episode 42 of ALILI is a return to the Germanic languages, but with a new guest: Old Norse specialist Jackson Crawford (@norsebysw.bsky.social) of YouTube fame introduces the language and discusses his translations of the Poetic Edda.
A great chat, freely available here:
pod.link/1703401848/e...
A great chat, freely available here:
pod.link/1703401848/e...
November 24, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Episode 42 of ALILI is a return to the Germanic languages, but with a new guest: Old Norse specialist Jackson Crawford (@norsebysw.bsky.social) of YouTube fame introduces the language and discusses his translations of the Poetic Edda.
A great chat, freely available here:
pod.link/1703401848/e...
A great chat, freely available here:
pod.link/1703401848/e...
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
Today I'm the guest on @dannybate.bsky.social 's podcast "A language I love is..." talking about Old Norse! open.spotify.com/episode/7GoR...
Old Norse and Jackson Crawford
open.spotify.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Today I'm the guest on @dannybate.bsky.social 's podcast "A language I love is..." talking about Old Norse! open.spotify.com/episode/7GoR...
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
@dannybate.bsky.social I really, really enjoyed “Why Q Needs You”. Very entertaining and enlightening, and it’s now got me spotting things - like how my wife rhymes “again” with “train” but I say “agen”. (This one arose from a hymn in church this morning!)
November 23, 2025 at 1:19 PM
@dannybate.bsky.social I really, really enjoyed “Why Q Needs You”. Very entertaining and enlightening, and it’s now got me spotting things - like how my wife rhymes “again” with “train” but I say “agen”. (This one arose from a hymn in church this morning!)
A wildcard contender in the 'what does GH in English spelling stand for?' game.
November 23, 2025 at 1:15 PM
A wildcard contender in the 'what does GH in English spelling stand for?' game.
The best books of 2025
Gladiators and dictators, wolves and Beatles feature in our list this year
www.economist.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
In honour of our recent crossover episode with @dannybate.bsky.social of the A Language I Love Is.. podcast, tell us about a language that you love!
(Or several languages you love, I know it's hard to pick!)
(Or several languages you love, I know it's hard to pick!)
November 22, 2025 at 4:55 PM
In honour of our recent crossover episode with @dannybate.bsky.social of the A Language I Love Is.. podcast, tell us about a language that you love!
(Or several languages you love, I know it's hard to pick!)
(Or several languages you love, I know it's hard to pick!)
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
Fascinating topic aired, here, by real linguists @gretchenmcc.bsky.social @dannybate.bsky.social
How are we still making discoveries about the 5000-year-old ancestor to English, Latin, Czech, Hindi and many other languages?
In our latest episode we get enthusiastic about figuring out Proto-Indo-European with @dannybate.bsky.social!
In our latest episode we get enthusiastic about figuring out Proto-Indo-European with @dannybate.bsky.social!
110: The history of the history of Indo-European - Interview with Danny Bate
Before there was English, or Latin, or Czech, or Hindi, there was a language that they all have in common, which we call Proto-Indo-European. Linguists have long been fascinated by the quest to get a
soundcloud.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Fascinating topic aired, here, by real linguists @gretchenmcc.bsky.social @dannybate.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
Almost a year now since I received this absolutely classic burn from the Canadian government.
November 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Almost a year now since I received this absolutely classic burn from the Canadian government.
Leeds has made my day (as Leeds tends to), with twenty-two copies of 'Why Q Needs U' stocked and signed in their welcoming Waterstones – a personal record!
November 21, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Leeds has made my day (as Leeds tends to), with twenty-two copies of 'Why Q Needs U' stocked and signed in their welcoming Waterstones – a personal record!
The guest on the latest episode of Lingthusiasm is talking about all these topics I really like, and he seems to know what he's talking about
How are we still making discoveries about the 5000-year-old ancestor to English, Latin, Czech, Hindi and many other languages?
In our latest episode we get enthusiastic about figuring out Proto-Indo-European with @dannybate.bsky.social!
In our latest episode we get enthusiastic about figuring out Proto-Indo-European with @dannybate.bsky.social!
110: The history of the history of Indo-European - Interview with Danny Bate
Before there was English, or Latin, or Czech, or Hindi, there was a language that they all have in common, which we call Proto-Indo-European. Linguists have long been fascinated by the quest to get a
soundcloud.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:06 AM
The guest on the latest episode of Lingthusiasm is talking about all these topics I really like, and he seems to know what he's talking about
My book is £9.65 on Amazon UK over the next week in a 'Black Friday Week Sale', despite Black Friday being a shopping-binge day that follows another country's national holiday
Anyway, my book is available for cheaper, it's a decent book, and you may like to own it
www.amazon.co.uk/Why-Needs-hi...
Anyway, my book is available for cheaper, it's a decent book, and you may like to own it
www.amazon.co.uk/Why-Needs-hi...
November 20, 2025 at 4:37 PM
My book is £9.65 on Amazon UK over the next week in a 'Black Friday Week Sale', despite Black Friday being a shopping-binge day that follows another country's national holiday
Anyway, my book is available for cheaper, it's a decent book, and you may like to own it
www.amazon.co.uk/Why-Needs-hi...
Anyway, my book is available for cheaper, it's a decent book, and you may like to own it
www.amazon.co.uk/Why-Needs-hi...
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
Shittification and shareholder return
A rehash of an old thread
Why is everything crap. Well, here we learn why Adam Smith was an early Marxist, in that though he had great faith in markets
He had zero faith in merchants
And the reason why, is why no one answers your helpline
1/n
A rehash of an old thread
Why is everything crap. Well, here we learn why Adam Smith was an early Marxist, in that though he had great faith in markets
He had zero faith in merchants
And the reason why, is why no one answers your helpline
1/n
a woman is wearing a headset while sitting at a desk .
ALT: a woman is wearing a headset while sitting at a desk .
media.tenor.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Shittification and shareholder return
A rehash of an old thread
Why is everything crap. Well, here we learn why Adam Smith was an early Marxist, in that though he had great faith in markets
He had zero faith in merchants
And the reason why, is why no one answers your helpline
1/n
A rehash of an old thread
Why is everything crap. Well, here we learn why Adam Smith was an early Marxist, in that though he had great faith in markets
He had zero faith in merchants
And the reason why, is why no one answers your helpline
1/n
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
@dannybate.bsky.social Is another great vowel shift underway? www.instagram.com/reel/DRMpbH3...
Pronunciation Studio on Instagram: "A lot of people have been asking about this modern vowel shift in British (Southern) English. I think the best way to understand it is to compare 3 accents:
RP - R...
6,322 likes, 143 comments - pronunciation.studio on November 18, 2025: "A lot of people have been asking about this modern vowel shift in British (Southern) English. I think the best way to understand...
www.instagram.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:55 PM
@dannybate.bsky.social Is another great vowel shift underway? www.instagram.com/reel/DRMpbH3...
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
The (Old) Czech form samet was most probably the source of Yiddish samet סאַמעט, because with its initial s- (and not z-) the word cannot come from Early New High G Sammet (< MHG samît, samât etc), and definitely not from ModG Samt.
November 19, 2025 at 12:06 PM
The (Old) Czech form samet was most probably the source of Yiddish samet סאַמעט, because with its initial s- (and not z-) the word cannot come from Early New High G Sammet (< MHG samît, samât etc), and definitely not from ModG Samt.
That Latin word consobrīnus there (perhaps literally 'with-sister's-son' or 'with-mother's-sister's-son') is the ancestor of English's word 'cousin', only put through the linguistic meat grinder of early medieval France.
"cantiori hic iacit venedotis cive fuit [c]onsobrino ma[g]li magistrati"
('Cantiori here lies, of Gwynedd a citizen he was, a cousin of Maglus the magistrate')
Still fascinated by the 6th-cent. Cantiorix Inscription, from sub-Roman north Wales, bearing the first mention of the Kingdom of Gwynedd.
('Cantiori here lies, of Gwynedd a citizen he was, a cousin of Maglus the magistrate')
Still fascinated by the 6th-cent. Cantiorix Inscription, from sub-Roman north Wales, bearing the first mention of the Kingdom of Gwynedd.
November 19, 2025 at 9:39 AM
That Latin word consobrīnus there (perhaps literally 'with-sister's-son' or 'with-mother's-sister's-son') is the ancestor of English's word 'cousin', only put through the linguistic meat grinder of early medieval France.
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
Danny deliciously writes about the linguistic aftermath of the Gregorian reform and some unexpected developments in Slavic-speaking area.
The icing on the cake for me is the Trilingual Heresy, one I had never heard of.
Thank so much Danny !
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triling...
The icing on the cake for me is the Trilingual Heresy, one I had never heard of.
Thank so much Danny !
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triling...
Trilingual heresy - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 18, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Danny deliciously writes about the linguistic aftermath of the Gregorian reform and some unexpected developments in Slavic-speaking area.
The icing on the cake for me is the Trilingual Heresy, one I had never heard of.
Thank so much Danny !
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triling...
The icing on the cake for me is the Trilingual Heresy, one I had never heard of.
Thank so much Danny !
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triling...
"cantiori hic iacit venedotis cive fuit [c]onsobrino ma[g]li magistrati"
('Cantiori here lies, of Gwynedd a citizen he was, a cousin of Maglus the magistrate')
Still fascinated by the 6th-cent. Cantiorix Inscription, from sub-Roman north Wales, bearing the first mention of the Kingdom of Gwynedd.
('Cantiori here lies, of Gwynedd a citizen he was, a cousin of Maglus the magistrate')
Still fascinated by the 6th-cent. Cantiorix Inscription, from sub-Roman north Wales, bearing the first mention of the Kingdom of Gwynedd.
November 18, 2025 at 8:28 PM
"cantiori hic iacit venedotis cive fuit [c]onsobrino ma[g]li magistrati"
('Cantiori here lies, of Gwynedd a citizen he was, a cousin of Maglus the magistrate')
Still fascinated by the 6th-cent. Cantiorix Inscription, from sub-Roman north Wales, bearing the first mention of the Kingdom of Gwynedd.
('Cantiori here lies, of Gwynedd a citizen he was, a cousin of Maglus the magistrate')
Still fascinated by the 6th-cent. Cantiorix Inscription, from sub-Roman north Wales, bearing the first mention of the Kingdom of Gwynedd.
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
I have been WAITING for a journalist to write this story.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
I’ve written a piece on the curious lack of media and political interest in the issues faced by our national @britishlibrary.bsky.social. This is strange given we live in a world where ideas, knowledge and research are a long-term source of innovation and insight
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
www.cityam.com/the-british-...
The British library is in crisis: why does nobody care?
The widespread indifference to the British Library's crippling cyberattack demonstrates a perilous failure to value the knowledge infrastructure vital for national prosperity
www.cityam.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I have been WAITING for a journalist to write this story.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
I specialize in manuscripts produced in England between 1300 and 1500. If this had occurred in the midst of writing my dissertation or first book, it would have exploded my career.
Reposted by Dr Danny Bate
Distilled podcast version of my review of @dannybate.bsky.social 's WHY Q NEEDS U : shows.acast.com/theintellige...
After Sheikh: what next for Bangladesh? | The Intelligence from The Economist
shows.acast.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Distilled podcast version of my review of @dannybate.bsky.social 's WHY Q NEEDS U : shows.acast.com/theintellige...