Word For Word is a podcast about storytellers and the languages that made them.
Each episode, award-winning journalist and author Sophia Smith Galer sits down with writers, artists and creators to explore the words behind their work: the languages they grew up with, learned, lost and gained that formed their imagination and creative practice.
New episodes weekly.
It's been almost 6 months since we finished Season 1. So - will you get a Season 2? How will you get it? Find out by giving this a listen!
Join a language nerd book club and support Word For Word with a Patreon subscription here: https://patreon.com/SophiaSmithGaler?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Buy Sophia's critically acclaimed book How To Kill A Language: Power, Resistance and the Race to Save Our Words here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9780008723729
14 Apr 2026
The languages that shaped Roy Bualuan
Roy Bualuan - better known online as human1011 - grew up in Indiana with Lebanese Arabic, French and English in his life.
He studied physics at Notre Dame, picked up Modern Standard Arabic as a language requirement, and emerged from that first class with a surprise: the Arabic he'd grown up with and the Arabic he was now being taught were almost entirely different languages.
In this episode, Roy and Sophia get into the sociolinguistic patchwork of Lebanon - where French, English, and Arabic code-switch in the same sentence - as well as his linguistics explainers and OF COURSE the dragon language that he made up. Because why not?
Follow Roy under "human1011" all over the internet!
If you want to buy my book, How To Kill A Language, that's here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9780008723729
This is a Viralect original podcast created by Sophia Smith Galer. This episode was filmed by Omar Mehtab, edited by Abraham Dein and Seren Jones was the Executive Producer. Head to www.viralect.com to find our services and tools, and if you've got an iPhone, search "Sophiana app" in the App Store and take advantage of your free month using the code WORDFORWORD.
7 Apr 2026
The languages that shaped Zing Tseng
Zing Tseng - journalist, author, and co-host of BBC's Good Bad Billionaire - grew up navigating Mandarin classes in Singapore, a Cantonese-speaking home, and the glorious linguistic chaos of Singlish.
In this episode, she and Sophia trace the languages that shaped her: from a teacher who told her "foreigners speak better Chinese than you do," to discovering, decades later, on a trip to her ancestral village in Xiamen, that she was far more fluent than she'd ever believed.
They get into why Singlish is a Creole (and why that matters), the colonial logic behind Singapore's "Speak Good English" campaigns, what billionaires and language learning have in common, and why ordering a coffee in textbook-perfect sentences will get you nowhere fast.
If you want to buy my book, How To Kill A Language, that's here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9780008723729 (https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9780008723729)
If you want to buy Zing’s amazing book Forgotten Women, that’s here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9781914240690 (https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9781914240690)
This is a Viralect original podcast created by Sophia Smith Galer. This episode was filmed by Omar Mehtab, edited by Abraham Dein and Seren Jones was the Executive Producer.
Head to www.viralect.com to find our services and tools, and if you've got an iPhone, search "Sophiana app" in the App Store and take advantage of your free month using the code WORDFORWORD.
31 Mar 2026
The languages that shaped Susie Dent
Dictionary Corner's secret weapon isn't English - it's German!In this episode of Word For Word, lexicographer, broadcaster and word detective Susie Dent joins Sophia Smith Galer at Casa Italiana in Clerkenwell to talk about the languages that made her - and made her one of the most trusted voices on the English language in Britain.Come for the etymology of "muscle" (hint: squeak squeak) — and stay for the revelation that diarrhoea and the River Rhine share the same root.Susie reflects on growing up defending her love of German to a grandmother who lived through the war, how a rainy afternoon at Oxford University Press and a dusty etymological dictionary changed the course of her career, and why she said no to Countdown - more than once. Susie's mystery thriller Guilty By Definition was an absolute blinder of a book, and I highly recommend you read it - buy it here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9781804183977If you want to buy my book, How To Kill A Language, that's here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9780008723729This is a Viralect original podcast created by Sophia Smith Galer. This episode was filmed by Omar Mehtab, edited by Abraham Dein and Seren Jones was the Executive Producer. Head to www.viralect.com to find our services and tools, and if you've got an iPhone, search "Sophiana app" in the App Store and take advantage of your free month using the code WORDFORWORD.
24 Mar 2026
The languages that shaped Hind Hassan
Speaking Iraqi Arabic opened doors in the field - while her Hull accent raised eyebrows in the newsroom.
In this episode of Word For Word, multi-Emmy award-winning journalist Hind Hassan joins Sophia Smith Galer to talk about how her languages have shaped her life and work.
Hind reflects on growing up as an Iraqi in Hull and shares how speaking Iraqi dialect transformed her reporting on the ground - unlocking trust, intimacy, and access - while her Hull accent exposed the class biases embedded in British media.
The conversation moves through Arabic diglossia, the differences between dialect and modern standard Arabic, and the unexpected ways language can both connect and isolate. Hind also opens up about code-switching, losing parts of her accent, and the emotional tension between sounding “professional” and sounding like yourself.
Come for poetic Iraqi motherisms - and stay for the chip spice.
Follow Hind on Instagram here to stay up to date with her new reports and documentaries: https://www.instagram.com/hanood7sn/ (https://www.instagram.com/hanood7sn/)
You can order my book How To Kill A Language here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9780008723729 (https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9780008723729)
This is a Viralect original podcast created by Sophia Smith Galer.
This episode was filmed by Omar Mehtab and Seren Jones was the Executive Producer.
Head to www.viralect.com (http://www.viralect.com/) to find our services and tools, and if you’ve got an iPhone, search “Sophiana app” in the App Store and take advantage of your free month using the code WORDFORWORD.
Chapters
01:10 — What’s in a name? Arabic naming traditions
06:05 — Two languages, two worlds
12:16 — Learning standard Arabic
18:34 — Growing up Iraqi in Hull
20:05 — Hull dialect & chip spice
28:00 — Accent bias in journalism
33:13 — Language as connection in reporting
17 Mar 2026
The languages that shaped Sathnam Sanghera
Sathnam Sanghera can remember pretending to speak English on his first day at school, lest he give away that he could only speak Punjabi. Today, he’s the prolific writer behind numerous works including Empireland, Empireworld, The Boy With The Top Knot and Marriage Material.
In this episode of Word For Word, journalist Sophia Smith Galer speaks with the author and broadcaster about how language, empire, and migration intertwine. Sathnam reflects on growing up between Punjabi and English in Wolverhampton, and realising later in life how deeply empire shaped the language he writes in.
They discuss the strange afterlives of languages in diaspora communities, why immigrant families often preserve “time capsule” versions of their mother tongues, and how Punjabi words have quietly entered everyday English. The conversation also explores the contradictions of empire: how English could be both a tool of domination and a global bridge between cultures.
Sathnam’s forthcoming book on George Michael - Tonight The Music Seems So Loud - can be bought here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9781035063871 (https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9781035063871)
You can order my book How To Kill A Language here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9780008723729 (https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9780008723729)
This is a Viralect original podcast created by Sophia Smith Galer.
This episode was filmed by Omar Mehtab and Seren Jones was the Executive Producer.
Head to www.viralect.com (http://www.viralect.com/) to find our services and tools, and if you’ve got an iPhone, download the Sophiana app and take advantage of your free month using the code WORDFORWORD.
Chapters
00:00 – Growing up between Punjabi and English
05:30 – Diaspora languages and “time capsule” Punjabi
12:30 – Empire, English and borrowed words
25:00 – Accents, shame and linguistic identity
41:30 – Writing across cultures and curiosity
56:00 – Sophia’s language nerd quiz
01:02:00 – Why multilingualism enriches society
10 Mar 2026
The languages that shaped Maryam Moshiri
Many know BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri for her ability to steer BBC news programmes through light and shade, helping us understand the world through its darkest moments as well as find a bit of relief and humour. But did you know she's also trilingual?
In this episode of Word for Word, journalist Sophia Smith Galer talks to Maryam Moshiri about the languages that shaped her life - from speaking Farsi at home as the child of Iranian immigrants to becoming fluent in Italian after falling in love with Rome and its culture.Maryam shares how growing up bilingual influenced the way she sees the world, why she once felt embarrassed hearing her parents speak Farsi in public - something that changed as she got older. She also reflects on studying Italian at university, living in Rome, and shows us how 'news voice' isn't just about tone, but about breathing.
You can order my book How To Kill A Language here: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/how-to-kill-a-language-power-resistance-and-the-race-to-save-our-words-sophia-smith-galer/bc2b75402744da38?ean=9780008723729&next=t
Or Amazon: https://amzn.to/4shmq0e
This is a Viralect original podcast created by Sophia Smith Galer. This episode was filmed by Omar Mehtab and Seren Jones was the Executive Producer. Head to www.viralect.com to find our services and tools, and if you’ve got an iPhone, download Sophiana and take advantage of your free month using the code WORDFORWORD at https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/sophiana-script-video-maker/id6742998989
00:00 — Growing up between languages
04:39 — Farsi, English, and becoming bilingual
12:38 — Falling in love with Italy and learning Italian
25:03 — Do languages actually help in journalism?
27:08 — How language shapes identity and personality
54:21 — Why learning languages still matters today
3 Mar 2026
The languages that shaped Len Pennie
Len Pennie doesn’t feel entirely at home in English or in Scots. So she writes in both. In this episode of Word For Word, poet and broadcaster Len Pennie joins journalist Sophia Smith Galer to explore what it means to live between languages. From growing up immersed in Scots without stigma, to discovering the shame and suppression surrounding, Len reflects on how a language can be celebrated on stage yet punished in the classroom and wider society.They open up on the politics - and inaccuracy - of calling Scots a “dialect,” the sanitising of Robert Burns, and why Len refuses to include a glossary in her books. The conversation moves through bilingual identity, monolingual privilege, and the complicated question of who “has the right” to claim a language. Len also shares how learning Spanish became both a refuge and a reminder of trauma, as well as how different languages can unlock entirely different versions of ourselves. Follow Len on social media at @misspunnypennie and find her poetry collections in my Bookshop link, along with other books on language and identity that I have loved reading: https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/how-to-kill-a-language-and-friends?&new-list-page=true You can order my book How To Kill A Language in the same spot, as well as from Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/how-to-kill-a-language/sophia-smith-galer/9780008723729 Or Amazon: https://amzn.to/4shmq0e This is a Viralect original podcast created by Sophia Smith Galer. This episode was filmed by Omar Mehtab and Seren Jones was the Executive Producer. Head to www.viralect.com to find our services and tools, and if you’ve got an iPhone, download Sophiana and take advantage of your free month using the code WORDFORWORD at https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/sophiana-script-video-maker/id6742998989.00:00 – Living between languages08:18 – What’s Scots?15:00 – Sanitising Burns & who gets to use Scots20:48 – Falling in love with Spanish, and language trauma28:00 – Monolingualism, privilege and language hierarchies39:30 – Feeling like different people with different languages 48:10 – Sophia’s language nerd quiz01:00:50 – The future of Scots: “Government-Subsidised Grannies”
20 Feb 2026
Trailer: Word For Word with Sophia Smith Galer
Word For Word is a podcast about storytellers and the languages that made them.
There'll be new interviews every week, hosted by award-winning journalist, author and content creator, Sophia Smith Galer.
Season 1 starts very soon!!!
Credits
This is a Viralect original production, filmed by Omar Mehtab.
Seren Jones is our executive producer.
Sophia Smith Galer is the founder of Viralect and creator of Word For Word.
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5 ratings
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