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A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over

Light-hearted conversation with callers from all over about new words, old sayings, slang, family ex

Episodes

Total: 775

Astronauts returning from space say they experience what's called the overview effect, a new underst

The autocomplete function on your phone comes in handy, of course. But is it changing the way we wri

How do actors bring Shakespeare's lines to life so that modern audiences immediately understand the

In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use

How do actors bring Shakespeare's lines to life so that modern audiences immediately understand the

We asked for your thoughts about whether cursive writing should be taught in schools — and many of y

Asthenosphere, a geologist’s term for the molten layer beneath the earth’s crust, sparks a journey t

If someone urges you to spill the tea, they probably don’t want you tipping over a hot beverage. Ori

Amid court-ordered busing in the 1970s, a middle-school teacher tried to distract her nervous studen

When you had sleepovers as a child, what did you call the makeshift beds you made on the floor? In s

Jacuzzi and silhouette are eponyms — that is, they derive from the names of people. An Italian immig

The emotional appeal of handwriting and the emotional reveal of animal phrases. Should children be t

Some TV commercials launch catchphrases that stick around long after the original ads. The exclamati

If you speak both German and Spanish, you may find yourself reaching for a German word instead of a

How does social context shape our perception of language? When hiking the Appalachian Trail, a young

Chances are you recognize the expressions Judgment Day and root of all evil as phrases from the Bibl

What happens in a classroom of refugee and immigrant youngsters learning English? Their fresh approa

We have books for language-lovers and recommendations for history buffs. • How did the word boondogg

Are there words and phrases that you misunderstood for an embarrassingly long time? Maybe you though

Cherry Bombs (#1551)

2020/7/27

An ornithologist says there’s a growing movement to change the name of a pink-footed bird currently