Language on the Move is a podcast devoted to multilingualism, language learning, and intercultural communication in the contexts of globalization and migration. Language on the Move aims to disseminate sociolinguistic research to a broad global audience.
Language on the Move was co-founded by Ingrid Piller and Kimie Takahashi, and is currently edited by Ingrid Piller. Our team consists of a research group based at Macquarie University and is complemented by contributors from around the world. A full list of our authors is available here. The web developer and designer behind Language on the Move is Marcin Debski.
How Were Foreign Languages Taught in Early Modern Europe?
In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Brynn Quick chats with Professor Dr. Natalia Filatkina, Dr. Kerstin Roth and Research Associate Miriam Hinterholzer. All three work at the University of Hamburg in Germany on a long-term research project, called FSL Digital, that investigates language history, language attitudes and everyday communication in the context of multilingualism in early modern Europe.
As part of this project, today’s guests annotate and analyse multilingual foreign language textbooks from the 15th to 17th centuries.
Today’s guests discuss these textbooks, the research project, and what historical foreign language manuals can tell us about language attitudes and expectations of foreign language learning.
For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here.
2 Sept 2026
Linguistic Unease in Healthcare
In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Brynn Quick chats with Dr. Nicole Marinaro, a sociolinguist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hamburg. Her work explores how language policies shape people's experiences of accessing healthcare and other public services. Dr. Marinaro’s research focuses on linguistic justice, examining how communication barriers affect patients who speak a language other than the majority language and how these barriers can lead to unequal access to care. Today she and Brynn discuss her 2025 paper "Operationalising linguistic unease for the evaluation of language policies in healthcare".
In this paper, Dr. Marinaro expands on the concept of "linguistic unease" as a practical framework for evaluating whether healthcare language policies truly meet patients' communication needs. Through her research, Dr. Marinaro aims to help policymakers and healthcare organizations create more inclusive systems that ensure everyone can communicate confidently and receive equitable care.
References
Gazzola, M., & Marinaro, N. (2022). Sprachenpolitik und Integration in Ausländerbehörden und Krankenhäusern: Der Fall Berlin und Leipzig. Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft für Interlinguistik, 2022, 57–84.
Marinaro, N. (2025). Operationalising linguistic unease for the evaluation of language policies in healthcare. Revista de Llengua i Dret (84), 73–93. DOI here
For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here.
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26 Aug 2026
Speech and the City
In this episode of the Language on the Move Podcast, Ingrid Piller speaks with Yaron Matras about his new book Speech and the City.
In this timely book, Yaron shows that cities can provide an important counter-weight to political polarization by forging civic identities that embrace diversity. The book traces the emergence of a city language narrative that embraces and celebrates multilingualism and helps forge a civic identity. He critiques linguaphobic discourses at a national level that regard multilingualism as deficient citizenship. Drawing on his research in Manchester, he examines the 'multilingual utopia', looking at multilingual spaces across sectors in the city that support access, heritage, skills and celebration. The book explores the tensions between decolonial approaches that inspire activism for social justice and equality, and the neoliberal enterprise that appropriates diversity for reputational and profitability purposes, prompting critical reflection on calls for civic university engagement.
Beyond telling the story of the Multilingual Manchester project, the book also offers an intriguing glimpse into the author’s distinguished career as a linguist, scholar, and activist.
Reference
Matras, Y. (2024). Speech and the City: Multilingualism, Decoloniality and the Civic University. Cambridge University Press.
For additional resources, show notes, and transcripts, go here.
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Who has been a guest on Language on the Move
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Dr Leah Karliner
Dr Sara Hillman
Dr Nicole Holliday
Dr Masaki Shibata
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
82,266
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
15 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 54 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
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