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The hidden logic of English spelling, with Colin Gorrie
Episode 1185
1185. Today, we look at why English spelling is secretly optimized for readers. Colin Gorrie, linguist and creator of the Dead Language Society newsl…
3 months ago
How the Crusades gave us 'lingua franca.' 'That' or 'who' for animals? Doot doot doot
Episode 1184
1184. This week, we look at the history of lingua francas, from the original mix of Italian, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Turkish used during the Cru…
3 months, 1 week ago
Meeting the new editor, with AP Stylebook's Anna Jo Bratton
Episode 1183
1183. This week, we talk to Anna Jo Bratton about leading the committee that decides the rules for the "journalism bible." We look at how the team "p…
3 months, 1 week ago
Decoding the colon: AP vs. MLA style. Plus, words with no known origin.
Episode 1182
1182. This week, we solve the mystery of the colon: when do you actually need to capitalize the next word? We compare AP, Chicago, and MLA styles to …
3 months, 2 weeks ago
The hidden superpower of verbs, with Sarah L. Kaufman
Episode 1181
1181. This week, we talk to Sarah L. Kaufman about verbs. We look at why English is a "manner verb" superpower and why babies often learn preposition…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
Why English creates so many words spelled the same. Why we say 'ye olde' instead of 'the old.'
Episode 1180
1180. Why does "Ye Olde Shoppe" look old-fashioned? This week, we look at the vanished letters of English — thorn, eth, and yogh — and at why English…
3 months, 3 weeks ago
'Why We Talk Funny.' The reasons behind our accents, with Valerie Fridland
Episode 1179
1179. This week, we talk to Valerie Fridland, a linguist and professor who grew up in Memphis surrounded by Southern accents and now researches the h…
3 months, 4 weeks ago
Should you start a sentence with 'hopefully'? Why we might not recognize alien language.
Episode 1178
1178. Do you cringe when someone says "Hopefully, he'll pass the test"? This week, we look at why "hopefully" as a sentence adverb has been controver…
3 months, 4 weeks ago
Inside the life of a curator (and the myth of white gloves), with John Overholt.
Episode 1177
1177. This week, we look at behind-the-scenes of being a curator at Harvard's Houghton Library with John Overholt. We look at why 18th-century paper …
4 months ago
Why 'stressed' spelled backwards reveals a delicious truth. 'Me' versus 'myself'
Episode 1176
1176. This week, we look at mind-bending words, including "semordnilap" (which spells "palindromes" backwards), "pentasyllabic" (which has five sylla…
4 months ago