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Dr Danny Bate

@dannybate.bsky.social

5.3K followers 880 following 1.5K posts

"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]

geni.us

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · Aug 3

I've strayed into another language family, and made Finnish the subject of this month's post. Under the surface though, it's a piece about prehistoric languages, and how millennia-long linguistic contact can make foreign languages seem more familiar.
dannybate.com/2025/08/03/y...

You Know More Finnish Than You Think

Linguistics illuminates the linguistically obscure – or so I’ve always thought. It’s a common theme of my online output that a little bit of historical linguistics goes a long way, maki…

dannybate.com

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 5h

❤️❤️❤️

Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

Sophie Koonin @localghost.dev · 8h

I'm about halfway through this brilliant book and thoroughly recommend it for any fellow etymology nerds (or anyone who's ever attempted to teach English as a foreign language and come up against some seriously difficult questions about why we spell stuff like we do!)

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 8d

I now believe it's real.

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Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

👻madeline boOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 10h

Had a great time catching up with @dannybate.bsky.social today, and super excited to get my hands on a copy of his new book!! I love learning about new topics and Why Q Needs U is a deep dive into the history of the nuts and bolts of written language- letters.

A man and woman smile at the camera. The woman is holding a book.

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 16h

Great stuff, which is the word for 'book'?

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 16h

Hey, thank you! Irayo! (I may need you to translate your phrase for me)

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 18h

Thank you!!

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 18h

I gave my book a little christening in London yesterday, in the presence of an assortment of friends, nearly all strangers to one another, yet united in loveliness and generosity. I can safely say I derived more joy in being the nexus for their conversations than in the whole book thing.

Me, holding my book, surrounded by three friends with drinks in a wood-pannelled room

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 1d

I feel very grateful for [[your [company]] and [your [helpful [bracketing exercise]]]]

Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

David Adger @davidadger.bsky.social · 1d

Lovely catching up with @dannybate.bsky.social at his [[new book] party] tonight. Why Q needs U. Why indeed!?!? 🐦🐦

Author Danny Bate smiling with a copy of his new book in his hands

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 1d

Thank you so much for supporting the book! I hope it won't disappoint your expectations...

Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 1d

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 1d

It's not bribery if it's after the event

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 1d

Just made a special trip to Cambridge Waterstones to see if their review of my book is in fact real. It is. Had I been able to identify the reviewer, I would've bought them a drink.

A book on a shelf with a handwritten review attached

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Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

Theo Nash @theonash.bsky.social · 18d

'sit' is, I believe, the only English word to preserve all of its original IE ablaut grades:

0: nest
e: set
long e: seat
o: sat
long o: soot

Yoïn van Spijk @yvanspijk.bsky.social · 18d

Historically, the word 'nest' consists of two parts.

The part 'ne-' is related to 'nether', while '-st' is related to 'sit'.

The distant ancestor of 'nest' meant "place to sit down".

'Nest' is also related to Spanish 'nido' and its Romance relatives.

Click my new graphic to learn more:

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Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

Katherine McDonald @katherinemcdon.bsky.social · 3d

I'm sorry, but for budget reasons, your chariot to the afterlife is scheduled to be pulled by a chicken.

Small votive dedication to Hades showing a man in a chariot and, sorry, a chicken. With greek inscription.

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 3d

Thank you very much for considering and supporting the book! That's strange about Amazon, I'll flag it with the publishers. If, as I assume, you're based outside the UK, then Blackwell's is a good choice; apparently it has cost and shipping to the USA at $18.
geni.us/WhyQNeedsU

Why Q Needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them

Out 2nd October 2025!

geni.us

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 3d

This was the single most gruelling part of the whole book process, through long hours, heat and on-the-spot changes to text when something didn't translate well into audio. I mean, the book begins "Dear reader, as you read this sentence..."

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 3d

20+ hours in a hot recording booth (air conditioning would get picked up by the mic) all totally worth it – my excruciatingly English reading of the 'Why Q Needs U' audiobook is now out!

A screenshot of the playing audiobook of Why Q Needs U

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Reposted by Dr Danny Bate

depths of wikipedia @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social · 4d

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 4d

Came across an old school friend today, who went to university after school and immediately adopted a strong and convincing Scottish accent, which he maintains to this day, despite not being at all Scottish. I didn't know that was an option.

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 4d

I am now disappointed in myself for not writing that (and thank you!)

Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 4d

Really pleased with how this interview hosted by @colingorrie.bsky.social turned out, especially with his questions – Colin is himself such a skilled linguist that his questions fired up my own thoughts. His Yiddish/Hebrew writing reflections (48:40) was a stroke of genius.
youtu.be/5rlaMWduwyc?...

History of the alphabet: a conversation with Danny Bate

YouTube video by Colin Gorrie

youtu.be

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 5d

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 5d

Thank you very much, Hwaet! Your nom d'internet does appear in the book...

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Dr Danny Bate @dannybate.bsky.social · 5d

We're still working on that, I really hope the deal will be reached very soon.