Babel (magazine)

Babel: The Language Magazine is a quarterly magazine about language and linguistics. Its aim is to make linguistics and linguistic research accessible to a non-expert audience. The magazine is available in print and digital format and offers individual and institutional subscriptions with international shipping. Its first issue appeared in November 2012.

Babel: The Language Magazine
FrequencyQuarterly
First issue2012
CompanyBabel: The Language Magazine, Ltd.
CountryUnited Kingdom
Based inLeeds, West Yorkshire
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.babelzine.co.uk
ISSN2051-7297
OCLC881446057

Babel was founded by the linguistics professors Lesley Jeffries and Dan McIntyre and originally produced from the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages at the University of Huddersfield, UK. In 2023, Babel became a not-for-profit limited company and is no longer affiliated with any university.[1]

The British linguist David Crystal serves as linguistic consultant and the magazine has been endorsed by the writer, actor and broadcaster Stephen Fry.[2]

Editorial team

Babel's current editorial team is as follows:

Editors
Lesley Jeffries
Dan McIntyre
Assistant editor
Matthew Evans
Editorial assistants
Hazel Price
Erica Gold

Babel Lecture

Since 2015, Babel has hosted an annual public lecture. The Babel Lecture aims to celebrate the discipline of linguistics, and to enhance public understanding and awareness of this field by providing popular and accessible analysis of language and communication. The list of Babel lectures to date is as follows:

Year Speaker Title Venue
2015 Brendan Gunn[3] The breath of meaning: Applying linguistics University of Huddersfield, UK
2016 David Crystal The English tone of voice University of Huddersfield, UK
2017 Peter French Their own tongues speak against them: Phonetics in the criminal justice system University of Huddersfield, UK
2018 Susie Dent The -ize have it: The Americanization of English and what we can do about it University of Huddersfield, UK
2019 Jessica Coon The linguistics of Arrival: Aliens, fieldwork and Universal Grammar University of Huddersfield, UK
2020 No lecture, due to Covid-19
2021 Jean Berko Gleason The wug test Online
2022 Stephen Fry What we have here is a failure to communicate[4] University of Huddersfield, UK
2023 Robin Ince Weapons of empathy: How the written word lets us walk in the boots and minds of others Media City, Salford, UK

Babel Young Writers' Competition

The magazine also organises an annual Young Writer's Competition, for which there are two age groups one can compete in - a 16-18 category and an undergraduate category.[5] Submitted essays may be on any linguistics-related topic, up to 2,500 words in length. Winners of the competition receive a year's subscription to Babel Magazine. The first edition of the competition ran in 2014, and past winners have written on topics such as British Sign Language, Spoonerisms, and language death.

References
  1. Price, Hazel; McIntyre, Dan (2023). Communicating Linguistics: Language, Community and Public Engagement. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 49–59. ISBN 9780367560119.
  2. "Stephen Fry's endorsement on Twitter". Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  3. "Game of Thrones language expert and Dothraki inventor Brendan Gunn visits Huddersfield to share secrets of the stars". Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  4. Babel Lecture 2022 with Stephen Fry: 'What we have here is a failure to communicate' (17/06/22), retrieved 19 September 2023
  5. "Events". www.babelzine.com. Retrieved 19 July 2017.


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