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Irregular Verbs Unveiled: From Old English Roots to Modern Usage
Episode 120
This episode traces why English still carries a handful of irregular verbs—exploring their Germanic origins, the forces of frequency and lexicographi…
1 week ago
Scouse, the Long s, and Companion: Dialect, Printing, and Etymology in English History
Episode 119
Explore how Liverpool’s Scouse dialect emerged from maritime trade, how the long ‘s’ letter once looked like an f and shaped early modern printing, a…
1 week ago
Kachru’s Three Circles: The Global Journey of English
Episode 118
Explore Braj Kachru’s Three Circles model that maps the evolving relationship between native speakers, former colonies, and foreign learners of Engli…
1 week ago
Cwen to Queen: The Silent Spell‑Change That Shaped English Orthography
Episode 117
Explore how the Old English word cwen became queen, tracing the quiet shift from a ‘cw’ digraph to a ‘qu’ spelling under Norman scribes and the print…
1 week ago
The Strange History of the Word Girl
Episode 116
Explore how the seemingly simple word ‘girl’ evolved from medieval, gender‑fluid meanings to its modern sense—uncovering uncertain roots, shifting us…
1 week ago
Cajun English: How French Contact Shaped a Southern Dialect
Episode 115
Explore how Acadian exiles brought Louisiana French to the Bayou, creating a bilingual environment that left lasting traces in grammar, vocabulary, a…
1 week ago
General American: The Myth Behind America’s ‘Neutral’ Accent
Episode 114
In this episode we trace the roots of General American—from its birth in early radio to its rise as a national standard on television and in educatio…
1 week ago
Trade Routes & Borrowed Words: How Global Commerce Shaped English
Episode 113
This episode traces how merchants, sailors, and scholars from the Persian Gulf to Italy to Southeast Asia slipped loanwords into English—spices, alge…
1 week ago
Accents & Authority: Tracing Class Through British English Dialects
Episode 112
From Received Pronunciation and Cockney in the 20th century to Estuary English and modern Multicultural London English, this episode traces how accen…
1 week ago
From Parler to Parliament: How a French Word Became Britain’s Political Voice
Episode 111
In this episode we trace the journey of the word parliament—from its Old French root meaning ‘to speak’ through medieval England, into modern democra…
1 week, 1 day ago