Lexicon Valley from Booksmart Studios

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Luxuriate in the wonder of language.
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Also, Professor McWhorter on his favorite dinosaur.
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The Rodney Dangerfield PronounListen now (34 min) | In language, redundancy opens up possibilities.
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The Luck of the PotListen now (6 min) | Does "potluck" have Native American origins?
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The Evolution of 'Woke'
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Let Sleeping Dogs Lay
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You Are SO Articulate. Really.
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JFK's Most Famous Sentence
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Reviving Dead Languages
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NewCommunity
Is Negro a Slur or Just Antiquated?Listen now (35 min) | And does the word "picnic" have a racist origin?
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The short answer is that it didn't.
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Sullen, Secure & SoberListen now (4 min) | A root meaning "separate or apart" unites words across English and other languages.
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One Is the Loneliest NumberListen now (31 min) | A breakdown of all things oneness.
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Also, will standardized tests ever except nonstandard grammar?
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From Disrespect to DisasterListen now (5 min) | It's rare for a prefix to strike out on its own, but dis has done just that.
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Throw Up, Turn Out & BelieveListen now (46 min) | More about how new words are formed and what they might say about how long a language has been around.
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The verbing of access became widespread only in about the 1970s, and now it's ubiquitous.
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See all

Most popular

The Evolution of 'Woke'
66
25
Let Sleeping Dogs Lay
42
57
You Are SO Articulate. Really.
43
3
11
9
JFK's Most Famous Sentence
41
9
Reviving Dead Languages
33
20
See all popular

Lexicon Valley from Booksmart Studios

A podcast about language, with host John McWhorter.
Check out the other Booksmart Studios shows!
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UnprecedentedHear the raw and emotional stories of ordinary people who, as they pursued justice all the way to the Supreme Court, defined the limits of our First Amendment right to free speech.

Lexicon Valley from Booksmart Studios

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