Beyond the Five Ws
Inquiring around the world. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 23, 2020•53 min•Ep. 190
Lexicon Valley
A podcast about language, with hosts Mike Vuolo, Bob Garfield and John McWhorter.
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Episodes
Tweety Bird and Toddlerspeak
How do children pick up language so readily? X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 09, 2020•41 min•Ep. 189
Coronavirus: Isolation and Aspiration
Are certain consonants to blame for spreading germs? X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 26, 2020•45 min•Ep. 188
Our Indigenous Languages
The wonderfully complex Native American tongues. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 20, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 187
I Just Can't!
Yes, linguists have language peeves too. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 28, 2020•47 min•Ep. 186
The Many Meanings of Too
The word too is far more versatile than you think. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 14, 2020•42 min•Ep. 185
Sicko, Whacko, Weirdo
What's with that long o sound we stick on the ends of words like neato and, yes, fatso ? X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 31, 2020•44 min•Ep. 184
A Myth Surrounding Mandarin
Chinese has no grammar, right? Wrong! X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 17, 2020•50 min•Ep. 183
From Uptalk to Vocal Fry
Women are the most prolific language innovators. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 03, 2020•50 min•Ep. 182
In What Order Did Languages Arrive in Europe?
Cutting edge research gives linguists new insight. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 18, 2020•44 min•Ep. 181
Digging Up the Past
It may be ancient history, but we need a way to talk about it. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 04, 2020•33 min•Ep. 180
Verbs on the Move
Like the boy said in that song: you come and go, you come and go. We all do. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 21, 2020•42 min•Ep. 179
Does Processes Rhyme With Knees?
Is our pretentiousness causing us to pronounce words wrong? X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 07, 2020•48 min•Ep. 178
A Bisl Yiddish
Yiddish is the gefilte fish of Germanic languages. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 24, 2019•48 min•Ep. 177
Private Parts
How did cock come to mean a male chicken and a penis? X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 10, 2019•40 min•Ep. 176
The Soft Power of Like
Words and phrases that are often dismissed as filler are actually conveying politeness. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 26, 2019•46 min•Ep. 175
Men, Women and Children
The weird plurals of sentient beings. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 12, 2019•38 min•Ep. 174
Zombie English
Dead parts of our language have a way of sticking around. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 29, 2019•35 min•Ep. 173
Let's Do Lunch
Come table-hopping as we discuss the linguistic quirks of mealtime terms. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 16, 2019•38 min•Ep. 172
How to Think Like a Linguist
The alphabet doesn't quite capture the many sounds we make. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 01, 2019•38 min•Ep. 171
Has English Gotten Less Complex?
English pronouns in particular have simplified over time. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 17, 2019•41 min•Ep. 170
S#!t, Hell, and Darn
Dissecting three common curse words. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 03, 2019•37 min•Ep. 169
This Family Speaks 1,200 Languages
From Javanese to Tagalog, the wonderful Austronesian languages. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 20, 2019•46 min•Ep. 168
Language vs. Dialect
A language is a dialect with an army, to paraphrase a renowned linguist. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 06, 2019•42 min•Ep. 167
The Internet Loves the Exclamation Point!!
On some of the deep forces that shape human language. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 23, 2019•36 min•Ep. 166
Why Is “Ph” Pronounced That Way?
We have two F sounds in English but only one is spelled with the letter F. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 09, 2019•33 min•Ep. 165
Does Language Affect Thought?
Another look at the so-called Whorf Hypothesis, the idea that the language you speak affects your perception of the world. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 25, 2019•48 min•Ep. 164
A Fleeting Glance
Reflections on transience. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 11, 2019•40 min•Ep. 163
The Romance Languages
On French, Spanish, Italian, etc. — otherwise known as the Romances. X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 28, 2019•45 min•Ep. 162
Why Do Some Americans Say Warshed?
Why do people often pronounce an R sound where it doesn't belong? X: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 14, 2019•48 min•Ep. 161
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