Word For Word with Sophia Smith Galer
The languages that shaped Hind Hassan
Published: 24 March 2026 at 07:17 Europe/London
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Episode notes
Speaking Iraqi Arabic opened doors in the field - while her Hull accent raised eyebrows in the newsroom.
In this episode of Word For Word, multi-Emmy award-winning journalist Hind Hassan joins Sophia Smith Galer to talk about how her languages have shaped her life and work.
Hind reflects on growing up as an Iraqi in Hull and shares how speaking Iraqi dialect transformed her reporting on the ground - unlocking trust, intimacy, and access - while her Hull accent exposed the class biases embedded in British media.
The conversation moves through Arabic diglossia, the differences between dialect and modern standard Arabic, and the unexpected ways language can both connect and isolate. Hind also opens up about code-switching, losing parts of her accent, and the emotional tension between sounding “professional” and sounding like yourself.
Come for poetic Iraqi motherisms - and stay for the chip spice.
Follow Hind on Instagram here to stay up to date with her new reports and documentaries: https://www.instagram.com/hanood7sn/
You can order my book How To Kill A Language here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/13258/9780008723729
This is a Viralect original podcast created by Sophia Smith Galer.
This episode was filmed by Omar Mehtab and Seren Jones was the Executive Producer.
Head to www.viralect.com to find our services and tools, and if you’ve got an iPhone, search “Sophiana app” in the App Store and take advantage of your free month using the code WORDFORWORD.
Chapters
01:10 — What’s in a name? Arabic naming traditions
06:05 — Two languages, two worlds
12:16 — Learning standard Arabic
18:34 — Growing up Iraqi in Hull
20:05 — Hull dialect & chip spice
28:00 — Accent bias in journalism
33:13 — Language as connection in reporting
