Lexicon Valley from Booksmart Studios

Lexicon Valley•lexiconvalley.substack.com

Society & Culture

Education

A podcast about language, with host John McWhorter.

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Episodes

A*#holes and B%tches

Dividing up nouns as “masculine” and “feminine” — like, for example, in Spanish — has not been a part of English for many centuries. And yet our language remains peppered throughout with gender, often overtly in terms like Mrs. and Mr., which evolved from “mistress” and “master.” Sometimes, however, it’s more subtle. John explains. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lexiconvalley.substack.com...

Oct 19, 2021•34 min

On the Singular 'They' and Slippery Slopes

English has been calling out for a gender-neutral pronoun for more than a century, with many failed attempts at invented words and portmanteaus. Singular "they" — once the scourge of schoolhouse grammarians — has now emerged to become the pronoun of choice for many outside the so-called gender binary. TRANSCRIPT From Booksmart Studios, this is Lexicon Valley, a podcast about language. I'm John McWhorter, and you know, these days, some of you probably know I'm writing pieces for The New York Time...

Oct 05, 2021•34 min

The Pandemic's Effect on Language

Turns out that some languages are less intelligible through a mask than others, and, believe it or not, it all depends on how often you use certain consonants. It’s called the McGurk effect and it’s the closest that linguistics comes to actual magic. * FULL TRANSCRIPT * From Booksmart Studios, this is Lexicon Valley, a podcast about language. I'm John McWhorter and you know, in line with the fact that the Booksmart version of Lexicon Valley is going to be somewhat more topical than the Grand Old...

Sep 22, 2021•29 min

What Do They Speak in Afghanistan?

Dari and Pashto are the two major, official languages of Afghanistan, and are even siblings in the Iranian subfamily of Indo-European languages. One, says John McWhorter, is “disarmingly approachable” while the other is “deliciously intimidating.” *FULL TRANSCRIPT* WHAT DO PEOPLE SPEAK IN AFGHANISTAN? From Booksmart Studios, this is Lexicon Valley, a podcast about language. I'm John McWhorter and here is our question for this episode. What do they speak in Afghanistan? Notice my melody. I put Af...

Sep 07, 2021•34 min

The Morphing of Critical Race Theory

There’s a lot of passionate argument about whether “Critical Race Theory” should be taught in schools. But the meaning of CRT differs greatly depending on who you talk to. What did CRT originally mean, and what does it mean now? What are our children actually being taught? And why do some terms tend to become so thorny over time? Click play to find out. *FULL TRANSCRIPT* JOHN McWHORTER : From Booksmart Studios, this is Lexicon Valley , a podcast about language. I'm John McWhorter and we need to ...

Aug 24, 2021•27 min

Mare of Easttown and the Philly Accent

In the 7-part crime drama, Mare of Easttown , Kate Winslet plays a flannel-clad cop with a thirst for Rolling Rock, an appetite for hoagies and a tendency to pronounce water more like wooder . John McWhorter — who also, it turns out, grew up in Philly — discusses his hometown’s enigmatic accent and Winslet’s courageous attempt at imitating those impossibly difficult vowels. Most actors don’t even bother. *FULL TRANSCRIPT* JOHN McWHORTER : From Booksmart Studios, this is Lexicon Valley, a podcast...

Aug 10, 2021•31 min

English Has a Bee in Its Bonnet

Welcome to the new Lexicon Valley from Booksmart Studios! On today’s episode: What is a spelling bee, anyway? Why do spelling bees pair particularly well with the English language? And we’ll explore the tempting but complex prospect of spelling reform. Plus: A special subscriber-only bonus segment, to show you what you can get if you become a paying subscriber to Booksmart Studios. * FULL TRANSCRIPT * JOHN McWHORTER : From Booksmart Studios, this is Lexicon Valley, I'm John McWhorter. Earlier th...

Jul 28, 2021•37 min

Introducing Lexicon Valley with John McWhorter

Lexicon Valley offers a close examination of language, exploring its power to inform and misinform, to elucidate and obfuscate. Hosted by renowned Columbia University linguistics professor John McWhorter, Lexicon Valley will analyze the words and phrases that dominate our discourse and make the headlines. John H. McWhorter is an associate professor of linguistics at Columbia University. He earned his B.A. from Rutgers, his M.A. from New York University, and his Ph.D. in linguistics from Stanford...

Jul 13, 2021

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