Lexicon Valley

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LEXICON VALLEY

English Spelling Is a Beautiful Mess English spelling is so frustratingly idiosyncratic. Heres why.

John H. McWhorter MARCH 20 2018 12:22 PM Did the Founding Fathers Have a British Accent? What we know about what Washington, Franklin, and Hamilton may have sounded like. John H. McWhorter FEB. 20 2018 2:22 PM The Inner Workings of Out On the rich complexities of a humble preposition. John H. McWhorter JAN. 23 2018 1:32 PM Whats the Deal With Eleven? On the etymology and pronunciation of English numbers. John H. McWhorter DEC. 27 2017 9:24 AM The Thing Is Is The problem is, is that we sometimes say is twice. Why? John H. McWhorter NOV. 28 2017 11:36 AM Thanksgiving Misnomers Turkey? Pumpkin? Squash? Theyre all mistakes. John H. McWhorter OCT. 31 2017 12:40 PM Against Strunk and White Its time to permanently shelve TheElements of Style. John H. McWhorter OCT. 3 2017 12:55 PM Este No Es Parqueo: A Brief Ode to Spanish An infelicitous parking job inspires musings on the Spanish language. John H. McWhorter SEPT. 5 2017 1:13 PM Do Languages Simplify Over Time? Old English was arguably more complicated than Modern English. Is that true of all languages? John H. McWhorter AUG. 8 2017 2:31 PM New Life for Dying Languages The Language Conservancys Wil Meya discusses the effort to revive Native American languages. John H. McWhorter JULY 11 2017 12:33 PM Why Do Languages Have Contractions? An explanation for our love of shrinkage. John H. McWhorter JUNE 13 2017 1:36 PM Is There a Jewish Way of Talking? Interrupting the hosts of Unorthodox to discuss hallmarks and stereotypes of Jewish communication style. John H. McWhorter MAY 16 2017 12:47 PM Thats Not a Word, Is It? John McWhorter discusses the near-futile impulse to determine what is, and what is not, a word. John H. McWhorter APRIL 18 2017 3:36 PM The Euphemism Treadmill The evolution from crippled to handicapped to differently abledand why no such term is likely to stick around long. John H. McWhorter MARCH 21 2017 4:31 PM 1930s American English Was Profane, Parochial, and Provincial John McWhorter time-travels to 1930 and eavesdrops on American English. John H. McWhorter JAN. 24 2017 12:04 PM What Had Happened Was Storytelling John McWhorter discusses the subject of his new book, Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths About America's Lingua Franca. John H. McWhorter MARCH 6 2018 12:47 PM No-Uh! On the rise of an exclamatory syllable in English. John H. McWhorter FEB. 6 2018 10:05 AM Words, for Her On the origin ofwoman, girl, and other lady terms. John H. McWhorter JAN. 9 2018 11:32 AM There Are Two N-Words Like gangster and gangsta, nigger and nigga have become two distinct words. John H. McWhorter DEC. 12 2017 10:00 AM An Accidental Sanctity Biblical scholar Mark Ward discusses his forthcoming book, Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible. John H. McWhorter NOV. 14 2017 1:15 PM Sometimes Just Because Language is often at the mercy of pure chance. John H. McWhorter OCT. 17 2017 1:44 PM Whence Baby Mama? John McWhorter answers questions from Lexicon Valley listeners. John H. McWhorter SEPT. 19 2017 11:17 AM From Pidgins to Creoles When languages collide and creoles are born. John H. McWhorter AUG. 22 2017 10:27 AM Did Cavebabies Say Mama and Papa? Languages across the world developed similar words for mom and dad. How is that possible? John H. McWhorter JULY 25 2017 1:01 PM In the Negative John McWhorter on the history and evolution of no and not. John H. McWhorter JUNE 27 2017 11:47 AM The Eccentric Irregularity of Being The enduring unusualness of the verb to be. John H. McWhorter MAY 30 2017 4:18 PM Mining Graffiti for Slang John McWhorter talks to Ben Zimmer about the Vietnam Graffiti Project and other slangy topics. John H. McWhorter MAY 2 2017 2:02 PM The Language of Female Friendships John McWhorter discusses communication styles with linguist Deborah Tannen. John H. McWhorter APRIL 4 2017 1:31 PM Heyo, Lets Talk About Hamilton John McWhorter talks to linguist Neal Whitman about the mashup of hey and yo. John H. McWhorter FEB. 7 2017 1:05 PM Like, Why Do We Use Like So Much? John McWhorter talks to sociolinguist Alexandra DArcy about the spike in our use of like. John H. McWhorter JAN. 10 2017 1:13 PM Why We Stopped Teaching Children How to Read Mark Seidenberg, author of Language at the Speed of Sight, discusses the fallout from the reading wars. John H. McWhorter READ MORE STORIES FOLLOW SLATE Twitter

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Extracted text from https://player.fm:

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Lexicon Valley Sub Play Share

Series homePublic Feed By Slate. Discovered by Player FM and our community copyright is owned by the publisher, not Player FM, and audio streamed directly from their servers. Lexicon Valley is a podcast about language, from pet peeves, syntax, and etymology to neurolinguistics and the death of languages. Hosted by linguist John McWhorter.

Lexicon Valley English Spelling Is a Beautiful Mess 10d ago + Play Later + Lists 36:34

Lexicon Valley Did the Founding Fathers Have a British Accent? 24d ago + Play Later + Lists 37:24

Lexicon Valley No-Uh! 1M ago + Play Later + Lists 35:16

Lexicon Valley The Inner Workings of Out 2M ago + Play Later + Lists 34:43

Lexicon Valley Words, For Her 2M ago + Play Later + Lists 35:29

Lexicon Valley What's the Deal with Eleven? 3M ago + Play Later + Lists 45:04

Lexicon Valley There Are Two N-Words 3M ago + Play Later + Lists 35:23

Lexicon Valley The Thing Is Is 4M ago + Play Later + Lists 34:22

Lexicon Valley An Accidental Sanctity 4M ago + Play Later + Lists 34:30

Lexicon Valley Thanksgiving Misnomers 5M ago + Play Later + Lists 36:23

Lexicon Valley Sometimes Just Because 5M ago + Play Later + Lists 32:21

Lexicon Valley Against Strunk & White 5M ago + Play Later + Lists 32:55

Lexicon Valley Whence Baby Mama? 6M ago + Play Later + Lists 38:08

Lexicon Valley Este No Es Parqueo 6M ago + Play Later + Lists 36:20

Lexicon Valley From Pidgins to Creoles 7M ago + Play Later + Lists 39:25

Lexicon Valley Do Languages Simplify Over Time? 7M ago + Play Later + Lists 32:06

Lexicon Valley Did Cavebabies Say Mama and Papa? 8M ago + Play Later + Lists 31:53

Lexicon Valley New Life for Dying Languages 8M ago + Play Later + Lists 37:18

Lexicon Valley In the Negative 9M ago + Play Later + Lists 32:04

Lexicon Valley Why Do Languages Have Contractions? 9M ago + Play Later + Lists 36:05

Lexicon Valley The Incredible Lightness of Being 10M ago + Play Later + Lists 29:17

Lexicon Valley Is There a Jewish Way of Talking? 10M ago + Play Later + Lists 38:18

Lexicon Valley Mining Graffiti for Slang 11M ago + Play Later + Lists 31:54

Lexicon Valley That's Not a Word, Is It? 11M ago + Play Later + Lists 30:51

Lexicon Valley The Language of Female Friendships 12M ago + Play Later + Lists 35:58

Lexicon Valley The Euphemism Treadmill 12M ago + Play Later + Lists 28:44

Lexicon Valley Heyo, Let's Talk About Hamilton 1y ago + Play Later + Lists 30:51

Lexicon Valley Earlier American EnglishMore Profane, Parochial and Provincial 1y ago + Play Later + Lists 32:35

Lexicon Valley Like, Why Do We Use Like So Much? 1y ago + Play Later + Lists 35:32

Lexicon Valley What Had Happened Was Storytelling 1y ago + Play Later + Lists 33:30

Lexicon Valley Why We Stopped Teaching Children How to Read 1+ y ago + Play Later + Lists 32:53

Lexicon Valley Away in a Penthouse, the Little Lord Jesus 1+ y ago + Play Later + Lists 28:43

Lexicon Valley What "The Wizard of Oz" Can Tell Us About "Arrival" 1+ y ago + Play Later + Lists 30:15

Lexicon Valley Black Like Us 1+ y ago + Play Later + Lists 36:55

Lexicon Valley Language Lessons of Past Presidents 1+ y ago + Play Later + Lists 32:17

Lexicon Valley Whither Didst Thou Go? 1+ y ago + Play Later + Lists 36:17

Lexicon Valley Why Do People Talk Like That in Old Movies? 1+ y ago + Play Later + Lists 34:28

Lexicon Valley Billy and Me Went to the Store. Deal With It. 1+ y ago + Play Later + Lists 29:09

Lexicon Valley What Is a Dictionary, Really? 1+ y ago + Play Later + Lists 26:52

Lexicon Valley The Invisible Language of Nursery Rhymes 1+ y ago + Play Later + Lists 27:08

Lexicon Valley Word Sex 1+ y ago + Play Later + Lists 39:10

Lexicon Valley Should Shakespeare Get a Modern English Update? 1+ y ago + Play Later + Lists 48:13

Lexicon Valley Are Emoji a Language? 1+ y ago + Play Later + Lists 42:04

Lexicon Valley Finding Life in a Dead Language 2y ago + Play Later + Lists 29:58

Lexicon Valley Rules Are Made to Be Spoken 2y ago + Play Later + Lists 33:29

Lexicon Valley The Tragedy of English Spelling 2y ago + Play Later + Lists 29:37

Lexicon Valley Your Brain on Profanity 2y ago + Play Later + Lists 34:27

Lexicon Valley Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot! 2y ago + Play Later + Lists 28:17

Lexicon Valley The Blaccent: What Does It Mean to Sound Black? 2y ago + Play Later + Lists 29:20

Lexicon Valley A Wild Goose Chase that Stinks from Fish 2y ago + Play Later + Lists 24:49

That's What They Say That's What They Say is a weekly segment on Michigan Radio that explores our changing language.University of Michigan English Professor Anne Curzan studies linguistics and the history of the English language.Each week she'll discuss why we say what we say with Michigan Radio Weekend Edition host Rina Miller. Talk the Talk A weekly show about linguistics, the science of language, on RTRFM 92.1 community radio, Perth. Speculative Grammarian Podcast Speculative Grammarianthe premier scholarly journal featuring research in the neglected field of satirical linguisticsis now available as an arbitrarily irregular audio podcast. Our podcast includes readings of articles from our journal, the occasional musical number or dramatical piece, and our talk show, Language Made Difficult. Language Made Difficult is hosted by the SpecGram LingNerds, and features our signature linguistics quizLies, Damned Lies, and Linguisticsalong with some discu ... A Way with Words language, linguistics, and callers from all over A fun weekly radio show about language seen through culture, history, and family. Co-hosts Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett talk with callers who have questions and stories about linguistics, old sayings, word histories, etymology, regional dialects, slang, new words, word play, word games, grammar, family expressions, books, literature, writing, and more. Email your language questions to words@waywordradio.org or call with your questions toll-free any time in the U.S. and Canada at 1 (87 ... The History of English Podcast The Spoken History of a Global Language Working Slate interviews Americans about their jobs. Whistlestop In this podcast for fans of presidential history, John Dickerson of Slates Political Gabfest revisits a moment from the American carnival of politics. Hear about the grand speeches, emergency strategies, baby kissing, and backstabbing that make each presidential cycle so fascinating. Slate Money A weekly roundup of the most important stories from the worlds of business and finance, hosted by Felix Salmon. The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast A Philosophy Podcast and Philosophy Blog

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Already have iTunes? Click I Have iTunes to open it now. Lexicon Valley By Slate View More by This Publisher To listen to an audio podcast, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to download and subscribe to podcasts. Description Lexicon Valley is a podcast about language, from pet peeves, syntax, and etymology to neurolinguistics and the death of languages. Hosted by linguist John McWhorter.

 Name	 Description	 Released	 Price	 

1 English Spelling Is a Beautiful Mess John McWhorter on why English spelling is so frustratingly idiosyncratic. 4/3/2018 Free View in iTunes 2 Did the Founding Fathers Have a British Accent? What we know about what Washington, Franklin and Hamilton may have sounded like. 3/20/2018 Free View in iTunes 3 No-Uh! John McWhorter on the rise of an exclamatory syllable in English. 3/6/2018 Free View in iTunes 4 The Inner Workings of Out The rich complexities of a humble preposition. 2/20/2018 Free View in iTunes 5 Words, For Her John McWhorter on the origin of woman, girl and other lady terms. 2/6/2018 Free View in iTunes 6 What's the Deal with Eleven? John McWhorter on the etymology and pronunciation of English numbers. 1/23/2018 Free View in iTunes 7 There Are Two N-Words Like gangster and gangsta, nr and n*a have become two distinct words. 1/9/2018 Free View in iTunes 8 The Thing Is Is The problem is, is that we sometimes say "is" twice. Why? 12/26/2017 Free View in iTunes 9 An Accidental Sanctity Biblical scholar Mark Ward discusses his forthcoming book, Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible. 12/12/2017 Free View in iTunes 10 Thanksgiving Misnomers Turkey? Pumpkin? Squash? They're all mistakes. 11/28/2017 Free View in iTunes 11 Sometimes Just Because Language is often at the mercy of pure chance. 11/14/2017 Free View in iTunes 12 Against Strunk & White It's time to permanently shelve the Elements of Style. 10/31/2017 Free View in iTunes 13 Whence Baby Mama? John McWhorter answers questions from Lexicon Valley listeners. 10/17/2017 Free View in iTunes 14 Este No Es Parqueo After parking in front of a garage, John received a note written in Spanish. 10/3/2017 Free View in iTunes 15 From Pidgins to Creoles John McWhorter discusses the process by which some new languages are born. 9/19/2017 Free View in iTunes 16 Do Languages Simplify Over Time? Old English was arguably more complicated than Modern English. Is that true of all languages? 9/5/2017 Free View in iTunes 17 Did Cavebabies Say Mama and Papa? Languages across the world developed similar words for "mom" and "dad." How is that possible? 8/22/2017 Free View in iTunes 18 New Life for Dying Languages The Language Conservancy's Wil Meya discusses the effort to revive Native American languages. 8/8/2017 Free View in iTunes 19 In the Negative The history and evolution of "no" and "not." 7/25/2017 Free View in iTunes 20 Why Do Languages Have Contractions? John McWhorter explains why we love shrinkage. 7/11/2017 Free View in iTunes 21 The Incredible Lightness of Being John McWhorter considers the eccentric irregularity of the verb "to be." 6/27/2017 Free View in iTunes 22 Is There a Jewish Way of Talking? John McWhorter interrupts the hosts of Unorthodox to discuss hallmarks and stereotypes of Jewish communication style. 6/13/2017 Free View in iTunes 23 Mining Graffiti for Slang John McWhorter talks to Ben Zimmer about the Vietnam Graffiti Project and other slangy topics. 5/30/2017 Free View in iTunes 24 That's Not a Word, Is It? John McWhorter discusses the near-futile impulse to determine what is, and what is not, a word. 5/16/2017 Free View in iTunes 25 The Language of Female Friendships John McWhorter discusses communication styles with linguist Deborah Tannen, author of You're the Only One I Can Tell: Inside the Language of Women's Friendships. 5/2/2017 Free View in iTunes 26 The Euphemism Treadmill John McWhorter on the evolution from "crippled" to "handicapped" to "differently abled" and why no such term is likely to stick around long. 4/18/2017 Free View in iTunes 27 Heyo, Let's Talk About Hamilton John McWhorter talks to linguist Neal Whitman about the mash-up of "hey" and "yo." 4/4/2017 Free View in iTunes 28 Earlier American EnglishMore Profane, Parochial and Provincial John McWhorter time travels to 1930 and eavesdrops on American English. 3/21/2017 Free View in iTunes 29 Like, Why Do We Use Like So Much? John McWhorter talks to sociolinguist Alexandra D'Arcy about the spike in our use of like. 2/7/2017 Free View in iTunes 30 What Had Happened Was Storytelling John McWhorter discusses the subject of his new book, Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths About America's Lingua Franca. 1/24/2017 Free View in iTunes 31 Why We Stopped Teaching Children How to Read Mark Seidenberg, author of Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Cant, and What Can Be Done About It, discusses the fallout from the so-called reading wars. 1/10/2017 Free View in iTunes 32 Away in a Penthouse, the Little Lord Jesus When "hath" gave way to "has," the original meaning of "merry," and other insights from popular Christmas carols. 12/27/2016 Free View in iTunes 33 What "The Wizard of Oz" Can Tell Us About "Arrival" In "Arrival," Amy Adams plays a linguist who discovers that language can radically alter one's perception of reality. But is that true? 12/13/2016 Free View in iTunes 34 Black Like Us Are the slang, sounds, and syntax of Black English a kind of lingua franca for America's youth? 11/29/2016 Free View in iTunes 35 Language Lessons of Past Presidents What can we learn about English from Bill Clinton, the two Bushes, and other leaders of the free world? 11/15/2016 Free View in iTunes 36 Whither Didst Thou Go? How our rich and complex system of second person pronouns got whittled down to just "you." 11/1/2016 Free View in iTunes 37 Why Do People Talk Like That in Old Movies? What Bette Davis, FDR, and Ralph Kramden have in common when it comes to speech. 10/18/2016 Free View in iTunes 38 Billy and Me Went to the Store. Deal With It. John McWhorter on what the intricacies of the future tense tell us about the unwritten rules of pronouns. 10/4/2016 Free View in iTunes 39 What Is a Dictionary, Really? John Simpson, former editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, talks about life as a lexicographer. 9/20/2016 Free View in iTunes 40 The Invisible Language of Nursery Rhymes What does "Hickory Dickory Dock" really mean? John McWhorter makes linguistic sense of seemingly arbitrary children's verse. 9/6/2016 Free View in iTunes 41 Word Sex How Words Hook Up and Make New Ones 8/23/2016 Free View in iTunes 42 Should Shakespeare Get a Modern English Update? John McWhorter talks with author Jack Lynch about the sacrilege of modified Shakespeare. 8/8/2016 Free View in iTunes 43 Are Emoji a Language? Gretchen McCulloch talks to John McWhorter about the big meaning behind our favorite little pictograms. 7/26/2016 Free View in iTunes 44 Finding Life in a Dead Language Ann Patty, author of "Living With a Dead Language: My Romance With Latin," talks about her transformative experience of learning Latin. 7/12/2016 Free View in iTunes 45 Rules Are Made to Be Spoken Rules Are Made to Be Spoken 6/29/2016 Free View in iTunes 46 The Tragedy of English Spelling Etymologist and poet Anatoly Liberman says that English is one of the most difficult languages to spell. But we can change that. 6/14/2016 Free View in iTunes 47 Your Brain on Profanity Benjamin K. Bergen, author of the upcoming What the F: What Swearing Reveals About Our Language, Our Brains, and Ourselves, discusses the science of cursing. 5/31/2016 Free View in iTunes 48 Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot! How an American Revolutionary War figure spawned a new name for a very old game. 5/17/2016 Free View in iTunes 49 The Blaccent: What Does It Mean to Sound Black? Linguist John McWhorter argues that it makes perfect sense for the speech of black and white Americans to have subtle differences. 5/3/2016 Free View in iTunes 50 A Wild Goose Chase that Stinks from Fish How did Clupea harengus come to signify a diversionary tactic? 4/19/2016 Free View in iTunes 51 Defecation Presentation The earliest known citation for shit show is from an English-language translation of a 1970s criminal trial in Germany. But what was the word or phrase being translated? 4/3/2016 Free View in iTunes 52 Take This Episode with a Grain of Salt A phrase with roots in Ancient Rome has confounded English speakers for centuries. 3/8/2016 Free View in iTunes 53 The Full, Firm, Valiant, and Heavy-Hearted Trump Donald Trump calls people (and publications) he doesnt like sad. When did that word become an insult? 2/22/2016 Free View in iTunes 54 A British Insult Fit for Trump A peculiar insult from the north of England has the Oxford English Dictionary stumped. 2/7/2016 Free View in iTunes 55 They Had a Good Year A pronoun that English borrowed from its Scandinavian neighbors gets new life as a gender neutral alternative to he and she. 1/27/2016 Free View in iTunes 56 The Curious Case of a Conspiratorial Coinage Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk about a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 1/10/2016 Free View in iTunes 57 Tears of Joy, Identity, and a Prism of Isms Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to editors at Oxford, Merriam-Webster, and Dictionary.com about their picks for Word of the Year. 12/27/2015 Free View in iTunes 58 Sleeping Hobos in a Tent, Rush 'Em! Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the early 20th-century origins of a bizarre food-industry code with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 12/13/2015 Free View in iTunes 59 Snoozefest Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the energetic history of the word sleep. 11/29/2015 Free View in iTunes 60 Woody Guthrie's Folk Etymology Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a word that was popularized during the 1940s folk movement with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 11/15/2015 Free View in iTunes 61 A Cat, a Coward, and Female Genitalia Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the etymological quirkiness of the word "pussy." 11/1/2015 Free View in iTunes 62 A Drone, a Bell, and a Suffix Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a piece of old American slang with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 10/18/2015 Free View in iTunes 63 Seven Centuries of F--ks Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to Jesse Sheidlower, author of The F-Word, about a recent discovery in the history of one our most enduring expletives. 10/4/2015 Free View in iTunes 64 An Ambitious Enterprise, Quixotic and Unavailing Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 9/21/2015 Free View in iTunes 65 How New York Became the Big Apple Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the true story behind the most famous municipal nickname. 9/6/2015 Free View in iTunes 66 Why Do Latin Americans Call English Speakers Gringos? Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the origin of a Spanish-language pejorative with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 8/23/2015 Free View in iTunes 67 What Do You Mean What Is It Like? Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss "A literary history of the strange expression 'what is it like?'"an article by lexicographer Anne Seaton. 8/9/2015 Free View in iTunes 68 LinguaFile XIV | Heebie Jeebies Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 7/26/2015 Free View in iTunes 69 What's the Deal with Translating Seinfeld? Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to journalist Jennifer Keishin Armstrong about the classic American sitcom Seinfeld and why it falls flat in other cultures and languages. 7/12/2015 Free View in iTunes 70 LinguaFile XIII | Bozo Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 6/28/2015 Free View in iTunes 71 The Pollyanna Hypothesis Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss what it means that language has a "positivity bias." 6/17/2015 Free View in iTunes 72 LinguaFile XII | Kibitz Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 5/31/2015 Free View in iTunes 73 M'athchomaroon, Zhey Lajak Vezhven! Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to conlanger David J. Peterson about the art and craft of creating languages for Game of Thrones. 5/17/2015 Free View in iTunes 74 Explicit LinguaFile XI | Seersucker Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the origin of the word "seersucker" with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 5/3/2015 Free View in iTunes 75 Explicit Double, Double, Toil and Trouble Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo don't know nuthin' about the double negative. 4/19/2015 Free View in iTunes 76 Explicit LinguaFile X | Pumpernickel Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the origin of the word "pumpernickel" with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 4/5/2015 Free View in iTunes 77 Explicit And Infinitum Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss whether "try and" is an acceptable substitute for "try to." 3/22/2015 Free View in iTunes 78 LinguaFile IX | Carnival Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the origin of the word "carnival" with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 3/8/2015 Free View in iTunes 79 Explicit Sex Workers Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the authoress, the usherette, and the editrix with Anne Curzan, the lady professor. 2/22/2015 Free View in iTunes 80 Explicit LinguaFile VIII | Quiz Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 2/8/2015 Free View in iTunes 81 Explicit The Many Lives of Anna Karenina Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to journalist and author Masha Gessen about translating Tolstoy. 1/25/2015 Free View in iTunes 82 Explicit LinguaFile VII | Cockamamie Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 1/11/2015 Free View in iTunes 83 Explicit Exposure to Vape Culture Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo are joined by Peter Sokolowski of Merriam-Webster, Katherine Martin of Oxford University Press, Jane Solomon of Dictionary.com, and Erin McKean of Wordnik.com to discuss their respective Words of the Year. 12/28/2014 Free View in iTunes 84 Explicit LinguaFile VI | Grog Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 12/14/2014 Free View in iTunes 85 Explicit What Does It Mean to Sound Gay? Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to speech scientist Benjamin Munson about the "gay voice." 11/30/2014 Free View in iTunes 86 LinguaFile V | Get One's Goat Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 11/16/2014 Free View in iTunes 87 Number Theory Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo ask the question: How did we go from "four and twenty" to "twenty four"? 11/2/2014 Free View in iTunes 88 Explicit LinguaFile IV | Snark Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 10/19/2014 Free View in iTunes 89 Explicit Man on the Street Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to Jonathon Green, author of The Vulgar Tongue and Green's Dictionary of Slang, a 6,000-page, three-volume reference more than 20 years in the making. 10/5/2014 Free View in iTunes 90 Explicit LinguaFile III | Orange Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 9/21/2014 Free View in iTunes 91 Explicit Demonstratively Speaking Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss Sarah Palin's use of demonstrative pronouns. 9/7/2014 Free View in iTunes 92 Explicit LinguaFile II | Lagniappe Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a mystery word or phrase with lexicographer Ben Zimmer. 8/24/2014 Free View in iTunes 93 Explicit The Manic Pixie and the Magical Negro Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to arts critic Nathan Rabin and journalist Christopher John Farley about the phrases they coined to identify two of Hollywood's most pernicious tropes. 8/10/2014 Free View in iTunes 94 LinguaFile I | Discombobulate Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield discuss a mystery word or phrase with Vocabulary.com executive producer Ben Zimmer. 7/27/2014 Free View in iTunes 95 Explicit Lexicon Valley No. 38: Fisherman's Whorf Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to Columbia University professor John McWhorter about his new book, The Language Hoax. 7/13/2014 Free View in iTunes 96 Lexicon Valley No. 37: Legislating Language Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss four legal cases in which the dictionary played a crucial part. 3/9/2014 Free View in iTunes 97 Lexicon Valley No. 36: The Dude Abides Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the early history of the word "dude." 1/26/2014 Free View in iTunes 98 Explicit Lexicon Valley No. 35: Learning to Say No Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the many meanings of a child's "no." 12/22/2013 Free View in iTunes 99 Explicit Lexicon Valley No. 34: Ask Not Who Wrote "Ask Not" Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss JFK's Inaugural Address with Richard Tofel, author of Sounding the Trumpet. 12/15/2013 Free View in iTunes 100 Explicit Lexicon Valley No. 33: The End of Ambiguity Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to linguist Arika Okrent about the most logical language ever invented. 12/8/2013 Free View in iTunes 101 Lexicon Valley: Special Announcement Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo announce the return of Lexicon Valley. Yay! 12/4/2013 Free View in iTunes 102 Explicit Lexicon Valley No. 32: The Burden of Being Right Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the irresistible pull of language pedantry. 8/4/2013 Free View in iTunes 103 Explicit Lexicon Valley No. 31: Name That Tone Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the relationship between tonal languages and musical acuity. 7/14/2013 Free View in iTunes 104 Lexicon Valley No. 30: Eject at High Altitude Mike Vuolo talks with an anthropological linguist about the influence geography might have on speech. 6/30/2013 Free View in iTunes 105 Lexicon Valley #29: 30 Million By Four Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the importance of talking to your child. 6/23/2013 Free View in iTunes 106 Explicit Lexicon Valley #28: A Brief History of Swearing Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss curse words old and new with author Melissa Mohr. 6/16/2013 Free View in iTunes 107 Explicit Lexicon Valley #27: Accentuate the Positive Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the seemingly paradoxical phrase "yeah-no." 6/9/2013 Free View in iTunes 108 Special Announcement Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo announce a new run of Lexicon Valley episodes. 6/1/2013 Free View in iTunes 109 Special Announcement Lexicon Valley will be back with a run of all-new episodes in the spring. 2/13/2013 Free View in iTunes 110 Explicit Lexicon Valley #26: The Fawth Flaw, Part II Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss R-dropping and the New York accent. 1/27/2013 Free View in iTunes 111 Lexicon Valley #25: The Fawth Flaw Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss a defining feature of the classic New York accent. 1/13/2013 Free View in iTunes 112 Explicit Lexicon Valley #24: Get Your Creak On Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss creaky voice. 12/30/2012 Free View in iTunes 113 Lexicon Valley #23: Good Is Up Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss metaphor and the "fiscal cliff." 12/16/2012 Free View in iTunes 114 Lexicon Valley #22: Talking Leaves and Lightning Paper Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the Cherokee syllabary. 12/2/2012 Free View in iTunes 115 Lexicon Valley #21: Undocumented Illegals Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the debate over "illegal" versus "undocumented" at the heart of U.S. immigration policy. 11/11/2012 Free View in iTunes 116 Explicit Lexicon Valley #20: Death to Potatoes Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo speak with Nataly Kelly, coauthor of Found in Translation: How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transforms the World. 10/28/2012 Free View in iTunes 117 Lexicon Valley #19: Here's to You Mrs. Malaprop Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss what malapropisms might reveal about the way we organize our mental dictionary. 10/14/2012 Free View in iTunes 118 Explicit Lexicon Valley #18: The Rate of Exchange Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the commonly held belief that some languages are spoken faster than others. 9/30/2012 Free View in iTunes 119 Explicit Lexicon Valley #17: Ascent of the A-word Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to linguist Geoffrey Nunberg about his book Ascent of the A-word: Aholism, the First Sixty Years. 9/16/2012 Free View in iTunes 120 Special Announcement from Lexicon Valley Mike announces a run of all new episodes beginning later in the summer. 7/18/2012 Free View in iTunes 121 Lexicon Valley #16: Our Dying Words Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss what we lose when a language goes extinct. 7/8/2012 Free View in iTunes 122 Lexicon Valley #15: Then Is Now, Now and Then Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the historical present. 7/1/2012 Free View in iTunes 123 Lexicon Valley #14: By Their Words You Shall Know Them Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss stylometry. 6/17/2012 Free View in iTunes 124 Explicit Lexicon Valley #13: Capturing the Past Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk about how Mad Men and Downton Abbey can teach us about language change. 6/10/2012 Free View in iTunes 125 Explicit Lexicon Valley #12: The Eloquence of Plain English Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the Gettysburg Address. 6/3/2012 Free View in iTunes 126 Explicit Lexicon Valley #11: When Being Done Replaced Doing Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the most significant change to the English language that you've never heard of. 5/27/2012 Free View in iTunes 127 Explicit Lexicon Valley #10: One Giant Leap for Humanity Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the he said/she said of the epicene pronoun. 5/13/2012 Free View in iTunes 128 Explicit Lexicon Valley #9: And May He Be a Masculine Bridge Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss how a simple quirk of grammar may affect the way we think. 5/6/2012 Free View in iTunes 129 Lexicon Valley #8: When Nouns Grew Gs Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss what it means for language to have gender. 4/29/2012 Free View in iTunes 130 Lexicon Valley #7: A Needle Pulling Thread Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the big ambitions of the word "so." 4/22/2012 Free View in iTunes 131 Special Announcement from Lexicon Valley Mike announces a batch of brand new episodes. 4/4/2012 Free View in iTunes 132 Explicit Lexicon Valley #6: A Meditation on Scrabble Mike Vuolo talks to "Word Freak" author Stefan Fatsis about the nature of language in Scrabble. 3/11/2012 Free View in iTunes 133 Explicit Lexicon Valley #5: Untuning the String Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo talk to author David Skinner about his book, The Story of Ain't, which will be published in the fall of 2012. 3/4/2012 Free View in iTunes 134 Lexicon Valley #4: Jumpin' Salty in The O Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the vernacular wrapped in a dialect inside a language that some call Ebonics. 2/26/2012 Free View in iTunes 135 Lexicon Valley #3: Consider the Lamppost Lexicon Valley #3: Consider the Lamppost 2/19/2012 Free View in iTunes 136 Explicit Lexicon Valley #2: A Bundle of F**ts Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the evolution of the word "ft." 2/12/2012 Free View in iTunes 137 Lexicon Valley #1: A Sin of Which None Is Guilty Bob Garfield and Mike Vuolo discuss the longstanding English language proscription against ending a sentence with a preposition. 2/5/2012 Free View in iTunes 137 Items Customer Reviews Good first effort

by Nathan Brazil I enjoyed this new podcast very much; however, I think you missed a very important step. You never actually defined what a preposition is. Or what you use one with. Or where the word comes from. Sorry... cheap thrills.

To be serious. You should have introduced this podcast, and it's subject, with a clear definition. Since I hope that you are speaking to each potential listener, not just the erudite, articulate masses, it seems only fair that the ragged seekers of lexicographic enlightenment should be fairly armed.

V

...More Love it!

by Jbrockba Can't wait for the next episode. I've been hoping for a podcast like this show up on the iTunes top 10 list!

As I Like It.

by mollyscissorhand Thank you for brightening my nerdy day! Interesting and not stuffy or pretentious.

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