Australian magpies are even cleverer birds than we thought. New research from Dr Stephanie Mason shows that they do two language-like things we used to think only humans could do: learn their calls socially, and combine their calls in a way that looks a lot like syntax. So are we calling this language? If so, how are the linguists taking it? Stephanie joins us to talk about magpies, media, and the territoriality of linguists.
Timestamps
00:00 Start
00:54 Intros: Your favourite bird
07:10 What’s coming up: Magpies
09:34 Join us! Patreon spruikery
11:32 News: Jamaican MP shut down for speaking Jamaican in Parliament
19:35 News: Whale phonology
31:46 News: Unicode to include new genderless pronoun for Mandarin
36:37 News: China and the Rubio Workaround
38:16 Related or Not: New theme from Hugh!
40:05 Related or Not 1: SLAP, SMACK, and SWAT
45:45 Related or Not 2: SOUND
56:13 Related or Not 3: SPECK, SPECKLE, SPECTRE, and SPECTRUM
01:00:36 Talking about magpies with Stephanie Mason
01:03:38 About Australian magpies
01:06:17 The problem of anthropomorphism
01:15:21 What’s the semantic content?
01:22:52 Linguists can be territorial about language
01:34:48 Social complexity drives new behaviours
01:45:19 Magpies learn their calls socially
01:49:42 Magpies combine their calls
01:58:44 Magpies learn calls across the lifespan
02:05:36 Finding those birds
02:08:10 Doing public engagement: Are metaphors actually helping?
02:17:26 Words of the Week: mog
02:24:54 Word of the Week: pied-à-terre
02:27:48 Word of the Week: dummymander
02:33:03 Word of the Week: Sooooo-ee!
02:39:22 Etymology of Guacamole
02:39:35 Comment: guacamole = testicle sauce?
02:41:28 The reads
02:46:28 Outtake
Listen to this episode
Video
@becauselangpod What your favourite bird? We're talking about Australian magpies with Dr Stephanie Mason on this episode. https://becauselanguage.com/139-magpie-syntax/
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Here, the question was: How many letters in your name could be converted to l33t, at least in a fairly standard implementation?
| Name | Leetname | Percent |
| Elías | 37145 | 100.00% |
| Steele | 573373 | 100.00% |
| Lyssa | 7y554 | 80.00% |
| Nigel | n1637 | 80.00% |
| Diego | d1360 | 80.00% |
| Stan | 574n | 75.00% |
| O Tim | 071m | 75.00% |
| Luis | 7u15 | 75.00% |
| Aldo | 47d0 | 75.00% |
| Amanita | 4m4n174 | 71.43% |
| Colleen | c07733n | 71.43% |
| Ignacio | 16n4c10 | 71.43% |
| Nikoli | n1k071 | 66.67% |
| Ayesha | 4y35h4 | 66.67% |
| Ariaflame | 4r14f74m3 | 66.67% |
| Linguistic C̷̛̤̰̳͉̺͕̋̚̚͠h̸͈̪̤͇̥͛͂a̶̡̢̛͕̰͈͗͋̐̚o̷̟̹͈̞̔̊͆͑͒̃s̵̍̒̊̈́̚̚ͅ | 71n6u1571cch405 | 66.67% |
| Ben | 83n | 66.67% |
| Daniel | d4n137 | 66.67% |
| Meredith | m3r3d17h | 62.50% |
| Molly Dee | m077yd33 | 62.50% |
| Helen | h373n | 60.00% |
| LordMortis | 70rdm0r715 | 60.00% |
| Keith | k317h | 60.00% |
| Fiona | f10n4 | 60.00% |
| James | j4m35 | 60.00% |
| Lance | 74nc3 | 60.00% |
| Sonic Snejhog | 50n1c5n3jh06 | 58.33% |
| Wolfdog | w07fd06 | 57.14% |
| Kristofer | kr1570f3r | 55.56% |
| PharaohKatt | ph4r40hk477 | 54.55% |
| Andy from Logophilius | 4ndyfr0m7060ph171u5 | 52.63% |
| Chris L | chr157 | 50.00% |
| Rene | r3n3 | 50.00% |
| Nasrin | n45r1n | 50.00% |
| Joanna | j04nn4 | 50.00% |
| Rodger | r0d63r | 50.00% |
| Amir | 4m1r | 50.00% |
| Tony | 70ny | 50.00% |
| Mignon | m16n0n | 50.00% |
| Rosemary | r053m4ry | 50.00% |
| Martha | m4r7h4 | 50.00% |
| Hedvig | h3dv16 | 50.00% |
| gramaryen | 6r4m4ry3n | 44.44% |
| Whitney | wh17n3y | 42.86% |
| Larry | 74rry | 40.00% |
| Andy B | 4ndy8 | 40.00% |
| Kevin | k3v1n | 40.00% |
| Kathy | k47hy | 40.00% |
| Laura | 74ur4 | 40.00% |
| Xekri | x3kr1 | 40.00% |
| Becky | 83cky | 40.00% |
| J0HNTR0Y | j0hn7r0y | 37.50% |
| sæ̃m | 5æm | 33.33% |
| Amy | 4my | 33.33% |
| Yevaud | y3v4ud | 33.33% |
| Faux Frenchie | f4uxfr3nch13 | 33.33% |
| Sydney | 5ydn3y | 33.33% |
| Canny Archer | c4nny4rch3r | 27.27% |
| Manú | m4nú | 25.00% |
| Rach | r4ch | 25.00% |
| Lucy | 7ucy | 25.00% |
| John K | j0hnk | 20.00% |
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Become a Patron!Show notes
XC382917 · Laughing Kookaburra · Dacelo novaeguineae
https://xeno-canto.org/382917
XC200287 · Australian Magpie · Gymnorhina tibicen
https://xeno-canto.org/200287
XC1088464 · Grey Currawong · Strepera versicolor
https://xeno-canto.org/1088464
XC1101754 · Common Nightingale · Luscinia megarhynchos
https://xeno-canto.org/1101754
XC1031963 · Superb Lyrebird · Menura novaehollandiae
https://xeno-canto.org/1031963
XC900281 · Western Meadowlark · Sturnella neglecta
https://xeno-canto.org/900281
XC488030 · Common Loon · Gavia immer
https://xeno-canto.org/488030
‘It’s broken English’: MP’s attempt to speak Jamaican in parliament sparks language row
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/may/21/jamaica-parliament-language-english-patois
Jamaican Lawmaker Blocked From Delivering Parliamentary Speech in Patois
https://www.blackenterprise.com/jamaican-lawmaker-blocked-parliamentary-patois/
When I stood to deliver my maiden sectoral speech on Culture and the Creative Industries, I chose to speak first in the language understood by…
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1935658013981968
The phonology of sperm whale coda vowels
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/293/2069/20252994/481340/The-phonology-of-sperm-whale-coda-vowels
The dolphin who loved me: the Nasa-funded project that went wrong
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/08/the-dolphin-who-loved-me
A New Chinese Pronoun Opens Space for Nonbinary Identity
https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2025/12/chinese-nonbinary-pronoun-unicode/
New Chinese gender-neutral pronoun ‘X也’ joins Unicode: A win for non-binary visibility
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/us/news/new-chinese-gender-neutral-pronoun-x-joins-unicode-a-win-for-non-binary-visibility/articleshow/126214142.cms?from=mdr
Ming Dong, Rong Chen, Lin He. (2023.) Gender bias in the Chinese epicene pronoun ta. Language Sciences, Volume 97, 2023, 101543, ISSN 0388-0001,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2023.101543.
[PDF] Huang Xingtao: A Cultural History of the Chinese Character “Ta (她, She)”
https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781000825831_A44159008/preview-9781000825831_A44159008.pdf
Another sinograph for Unicode — the third-person gender-neutral pronoun
https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=72620
Rubio is banned from China, but Beijing may have found a way around it
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/05/14/officially-marco-rubio-is-still-banned-china-so-how-is-he-beijing/
Beijing changes Rubio’s Chinese name, perhaps to get around travel ban
https://www.rfa.org/english/china/2025/01/21/china-usa-trump-rubio-chinese-name/
Young magpies learn complex ‘sentences’ just like humans
https://www.uwa.edu.au/news/article/2026/march/young-magpies-learn-complex-sentences-just-like-humans
Stephanie Mason: Ontogenetic evidence of socially learned call sequences in Western Australian magpies
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/293/2066/20251620/480728/Ontogenetic-evidence-of-socially-learned-call
Where Song Began: Australia’s Birds and How They Changed the World by Tim Low
https://www.penguin.com.au/books/where-song-began-australias-birds-and-how-they-changed-the-world-9780143572817
mog | Merriam-Webster
https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/mog
The Men Who Want Women to Be Quiet by Helen Lewis | The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/06/conservative-masculinism-misogyny/686939/?gift=Cf_JdpplmxXIwUybUZaTV7S8V1mnExM8osjqdxcqQfQ&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
Looksmaxxing influencer’s brittle interview shows the absurdity of a life lived on social media
https://www.abc.net.au/religion/looksmaxxing-and-the-absurdity-of-a-life-lived-on-social-media/106597224
Mayor Mamdani, Governor Hochul Announce State’s First Pied-à-Terre Tax, Requiring Ultrawealthy and Global Elites to Pay Their Fair Share
https://www.nyc.gov/mayors-office/news/2026/04/mayor-mamdani–governor-hochul-announce-state-s-first-pied-a-ter
Where Did the Term “Gerrymander” Come From?
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/where-did-term-gerrymander-come-180964118/
Trump’s Enormous Gerrymandering Blunder
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/virginia-gerrymandering-redistricting-election-trump/686888/
The Revenge of the Dummymander
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2026/02/dummymander-midterm-strategy-gerrymandering/686115/
Gerrymandering, Western Australia | Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering#Western_Australia
No Snopes.com, the word guacamole does not come from the Nahuatl word for “ground testicles or avocados”.
https://nahuatlstudies.blogspot.com/2016/02/no-snopescom-word-guacamole-does-not.html
Transcript
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