What is The Spoken Word?
Hannah Mechtenberg created a research science magazine in 2018 called The Spoken Word, where she aimed to make language research more accessible to non-scientists. It began a short newsletter and has since grown into a full-fledged magazine published yearly in print and online. The articles transform language research into vibrant stories of hope, wonder, resilience, curiosity, and discovery. The motivations for this publication are two-fold. While we aim to create content that is broadly accessible, our primary audience are people with aphasia and their caregivers. Each issue has several focuses: highlighting cutting-edge research on aphasia and ‘how language works’ to help our readers advocate for themselves in clinical settings and beyond and shows that engaging in language research leads to tangible and interesting discoveries that improve lives. Just as importantly, every article in The Spoken Word is pitched and written by undergraduate students invested in language science. Complex communication is a skill, and one that is essential for future academics, clinicians, and thinkers. Purposeful training in communication better prepares our students to engage their audiences with nuance and compassion. The Spoken Word continues to grow as it finds new ways to serve our readers, giving hearing and language science the spotlight they deserve.
Portia Washington has taken over leadership of the publication in 2025.
You can find the fully-formatted magazine (including all previous issues) at our website here: https://myerslab.uconn.edu/lab-lab-digests/
The Spoken Word is maintained by the Language and Brain Laboratory (or LAB Lab) at the University of Connecticut.
Why subscribe?
Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and publication archives.
Stay up-to-date
Never miss an update—every new post is sent directly to your email inbox. For a spam-free, ad-free reading experience, plus audio and community features, get the Substack app.
Join the crew
Be part of The Spoken Word community. Participate in the comments section, or support this work with a subscription!
To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.
