Virality Turned Nonsense Into Meaning

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…

Sponsors:

See discounts for all the products I use and recommend: ⁠⁠⁠https://chriswillx.com/deals⁠⁠⁠

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 ChatGPT to explore ideas, solve problems, and learn faster at ⁠⁠⁠https://chatgpt.com⁠⁠

Timestamps:

(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

Extra Stuff:

Get my free reading list of 100 books to read before you die: ⁠⁠https://chriswillx.com/books⁠⁠

Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic: ⁠⁠https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom⁠⁠

Episodes You Might Enjoy:

#577 - David Goggins - This Is How To Master Your Life: ⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠

#712 - Dr Jordan Peterson - How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs: ⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠

#700 - Dr Andrew Huberman - The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain: ⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠

-

Get In Touch:

Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx⁠⁠

Twitter: ⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx⁠⁠

YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast⁠⁠

Email: ⁠⁠https://chriswillx.com/contact⁠⁠

-

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices