THEY’RE BRAINWASHING YOU! (& other secrets that made you click) - Etymology Nerd
Adam Aleksic is a linguist, content creator, and author, best known online as the Etymology Nerd.
What’s happening to language right now? Words like “rizz” and “skibidi” can make it feel like you’re out of the loop, but are you actually getting older, or has the internet transformed language into something entirely new? What does the science of linguistics say about this shift?
Expect to learn why 6-7 was voted word of the year for 2025, why TikTok is becoming the most powerful linguistic engine on Earth, if there is a science to meme language, why funny language spreads and what makes it stick, why we should care about linguistics, and much more…
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0:00 The Truth Behind “Word of the Year”
2:31 Is TikTok Rewiring How We Speak?
3:27 Do Social Platforms Create Their Own Dialects?
5:34 The Hidden Formula Behind Influencer Language
13:47 Why MrBeast Changes His Voice
17:01 Internet Subcultures and Their Unique Languages
18:33 How Newscasters Engineered Their Signature Voice
21:12 Why Sports Commentators Sound So Distinct
22:38 Is Distribution Is the Key to Going Viral?
26:44 Can You Hear Sexuality in Someone’s Voice?
33:38 Are Lesbian Accents Hard to Identify?
40:32 Should We Replace Words With Emojis?
43:37 The Surprising Evolution of Etymology
45:26 Are Young People Driving Language Change?
47:10 Why We Reject Forced Language
48:34 Where Do Filler Words Come From?
52:14 The Most Powerful Language Tricks Creators Use
54:58 How AI is Changing the Way We Speak
01:02:55 Can One Word Capture a Whole Idea?
01:04:17 Social Media vs AI: What’s Worse For Language Development?
01:08:20 How Language Shapes the Way We Think
01:10:41 What It Really Means to Be Gen Z
01:14:40 Why Teenagers Naturally Rebel
01:20:20 Rapid-Fire: The Origins of Everyday Words
01:24:37 The Power of Creating Your Own Language
01:28:21 Was QWERTY Designed to Be Inefficient?
01:31:57 Does ChatGPT Actually Speak English?
01:33:49 Is Language Evolving Faster Than Ever?
01:35:02 Where to Find Adam
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Get 10% discount on all Gymshark products at https://gym.sh/modernwisdom (use code MODERNWISDOM10)
Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom
Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period from Shopify at https://shopify.com/modernwisdom
Get 15% off your first order of my favourite Non-Alcoholic Brew at https://athleticbrewing.com/modernwisdom
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Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw
Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
-
Get in touch in the comments below or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx
Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/
What’s happening to language right now? Words like “rizz” and “skibidi” can make it feel like you’re out of the loop, but are you actually getting older, or has the internet transformed language into something entirely new? What does the science of linguistics say about this shift?
Expect to learn why 6-7 was voted word of the year for 2025, why TikTok is becoming the most powerful linguistic engine on Earth, if there is a science to meme language, why funny language spreads and what makes it stick, why we should care about linguistics, and much more…
-
0:00 The Truth Behind “Word of the Year”
2:31 Is TikTok Rewiring How We Speak?
3:27 Do Social Platforms Create Their Own Dialects?
5:34 The Hidden Formula Behind Influencer Language
13:47 Why MrBeast Changes His Voice
17:01 Internet Subcultures and Their Unique Languages
18:33 How Newscasters Engineered Their Signature Voice
21:12 Why Sports Commentators Sound So Distinct
22:38 Is Distribution Is the Key to Going Viral?
26:44 Can You Hear Sexuality in Someone’s Voice?
33:38 Are Lesbian Accents Hard to Identify?
40:32 Should We Replace Words With Emojis?
43:37 The Surprising Evolution of Etymology
45:26 Are Young People Driving Language Change?
47:10 Why We Reject Forced Language
48:34 Where Do Filler Words Come From?
52:14 The Most Powerful Language Tricks Creators Use
54:58 How AI is Changing the Way We Speak
01:02:55 Can One Word Capture a Whole Idea?
01:04:17 Social Media vs AI: What’s Worse For Language Development?
01:08:20 How Language Shapes the Way We Think
01:10:41 What It Really Means to Be Gen Z
01:14:40 Why Teenagers Naturally Rebel
01:20:20 Rapid-Fire: The Origins of Everyday Words
01:24:37 The Power of Creating Your Own Language
01:28:21 Was QWERTY Designed to Be Inefficient?
01:31:57 Does ChatGPT Actually Speak English?
01:33:49 Is Language Evolving Faster Than Ever?
01:35:02 Where to Find Adam
-
Get 10% discount on all Gymshark products at https://gym.sh/modernwisdom (use code MODERNWISDOM10)
Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom
Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period from Shopify at https://shopify.com/modernwisdom
Get 15% off your first order of my favourite Non-Alcoholic Brew at https://athleticbrewing.com/modernwisdom
-
Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw
Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/
Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom
-
Get in touch in the comments below or head to...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx
Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/
Chris Williamson
Bonjour. I'm Chris, Host of the Modern Wisdom Podcast. Currently learning out loud with guidance from the most interesting people on the planet. You should join the cult.
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