Post by Felix Tacke

My good friend Rolf Kreyer is a brilliant linguist — and everyone who saw him win the Marburg Science Slam 2026 got to experience that live. Now the video is finally on YouTube, so everyone else can see it too. And not only is Rolf very good at explaining linguistics; he is also, as this video makes painfully clear, a born stand-up comedian. Nate Bargatze may have to watch his back. Rolf turns everyday misunderstandings into genuinely funny linguistics — and shows how much language can teach us about ordinary life. In his slam, Rolf starts with a very simple question: why do we so often fail to understand people’s names when they introduce themselves? The answer has to do with speech perception, context, and the fact that we understand a lot more than we actually hear. Suddenly, name tags become a serious linguistic object. Watch it yourself: ten minutes of science, linguistics, and actual fun. Yes, all at once. Video: https://lnkd.in/e_-7fyf2 #ScienceSlam #Linguistics #SpeechPerception #ScienceCommunication #UniMarburg #Anglistik #KebapConnection