The messiness of English is the price of its success. It is the most widely spoken language in the world, geographically, being an official language in 88 different countries, and there are countless different versions of it all over the world. With so many speakers in so many places, it would be impossible to establish a single ‘correct’ form of English; and, as became evident in Fix part I, to try to do so is a losing game. In Europe, a new strain of English is emerging. It’s...
Sep 09, 2015•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast The English language is a mess. And if you don’t like it, what are you going to do about it – fix it? Good luck with that. In the early 18th century, a movement of grammarians and authors wanted to set up an official authority to regulate English, like French had in the Academie Francaise. But is trying to fix a language a good move? Linguists Liv Walsh and Thomas Godard weigh up the evidence. There is more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/fix-i . Say hello at http://t...
Aug 28, 2015•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Words are all over the place. So how do you turn them into fun games? Here to show the way is Leslie Scott, founder of Oxford Games and inventor of more than forty games – including word games such as Ex Libris, Anagram and Flummoxed, and the non-word game Jenga. There is more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/word-play . Tell me about the word games you’ve invented at http://twitter.com/allusionistshow and http://facebook.com/allusionistshow . Support the show: http://...
Aug 12, 2015•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast ‘Step-‘, as in stepparents or stepchildren, originated in grief. Family structures have evolved, but are stepmothers now so tainted by fairytale associations with the word ‘wicked’ that we need new terminology? Lore’s Aaron Mahnke stops by to describe the lovelessness, literary tropes and life expectancy around ‘step-‘. There is more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/step . Share your feelings about steprelations at http://twitter.com/allus...
Jul 29, 2015•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sometimes words can become your worst enemy. Clinical psychologist Jane Gregory tells how to defuse their power. There’s more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/behave . This episode concerns mental health, and the discussion nudges some topics which may not be comfortable for everybody. Stay in touch! Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jun 30, 2015•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Emoji allow communication without words. Could emoji be the universal language of the 21st century? Matt Gray and Tom Scott, founders of the emoji-only messaging platform emoj.li, talk through the pitfalls; and History Today’s Dr Kate Wiles finds the 500- and 5,000-year-old precedents for emoji. CONTENT WARNING: this episode contains one category B swear word, plus reference to penises growing on trees. There’s more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/emoji , including a ...
Jun 17, 2015•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast “The poison is shame. The antidote is pride.” It’s June; the President of the USA has officially designated it LGBT Pride Month, and there’ll be Pride events around the world. But how did the word ‘pride’ came to be the banner word for demonstrations and celebrations of LGBT rights and culture? There’s more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/pride . Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow . This episode was produc...
Jun 03, 2015•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast What does brunch have to do with Lewis Carroll? Fall down the rabbit hole of brunch semantics with Dan Pashman of the Sporkful podcast http://sporkful.com . There’s more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/brunch . Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
May 20, 2015•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast On the eve of the 2015 General Election in the UK, take a jaunt through the etymology of election-related words. Find out why casting a vote should be more like basketball, and why polling is hairy. There’s more about this episode at http://theallusionist.org/electionlexicon . Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
May 05, 2015•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast I know this is a show about words, but forget the words for a moment; look at the spaces between the words. Without the spaces, the words would be nigh incomprehensible. Dr Kate Wiles explains the history of the space. Visit theallusionist.org/spaces to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Apr 22, 2015•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cryptic crosswords: delightful brain exercise, or the infernal taunting of the incomprehensible? Either way, crossword setter John Feetenby explains how they’re made and how to solve them. Visit theallusionist.org/crosswords to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Apr 08, 2015•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast You’d think you could trust dictionaries, but it turns out, they are riddled with LIES. Visit theallusionist.org/mountweazel to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Mar 25, 2015•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Those words on museum walls that you can’t be bothered to read? They’re more important than you think… Exhibition-maker Rachel Souhami explains why. Visit theallusionist.org/museums to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Mar 11, 2015•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Every week since September 1989, a radio station in Finland has broadcast a weekly news bulletin…in Latin. WHY? Let’s find out! Visit theallusionist.org/latin to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Feb 25, 2015•11 min•Transcript available on Metacast WARNING: this episode contains lots of swearing and words which some of you may find offensive. If, however, you love offensive words, you will enjoy this episode, which is all about how the C-word doesn’t deserve to be the pariah of cusses. Visit http://theallusionist.org/c-bomb to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow. Subscribe on iTunes http://tinyurl.com/iTunesAllusionist . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist...
Feb 11, 2015•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Remember when ‘viral’ used to only mean something bad, eg. something that would make you ill or destroy your computer? How things have changed. Tom Phillips from Buzzfeed UK explains the language they choose to make content go viral. Visit http://theallusionist.org/viral to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at facebook.com/allusionistshow . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 28, 2015•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast There are many synonyms for ‘underwear’. There are many synonyms for the body parts you keep in your underwear. But there’s only one word for ‘bra’. Visit http://theallusionist.org/bras to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at http://facebook.com/allusionistshow . Subscribe on iTunes at http://tinyurl.com/itunesAllusionist . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 15, 2015•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast In late 2014, China announced it was to ban puns. Helen Zaltzman wishes she could ban puns in her own family. Warning: this episode features some hideous incidences of wordplay. Visit http://theallusionist.org/puns to find out more about this episode. Tweet @allusionistshow, and convene at http://facebook.com/allusionistshow . Subscribe on iTunes http://tinyurl.com/iTunesAllusionist . Subscribe on iTunes at http://tinyurl.com/itunesAllusionist . Support the show: http://patreon.com/allusionist S...
Jan 14, 2015•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
