Lexicon Valley is a show about language, from pet peeves, syntax, and etymology to neurolinguistics and the death of languages. Hosted by linguist John McWhorter.
http://www.slate.com/lexiconvalley
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Coronavirus: Isolation and Aspiration
Can strongly aspirated consonants increase transmission of COVID-19? Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on Lexicon Valley each week, and no ads. Sign up now to listen and support our show. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Our Indigenous Languages
A luxuriance of long words, baroque case endings and irregular everything—the Native American tongues!
I Just Can't!
Host John McWhorter shares some of his longstanding language peeves—yes, linguists have them too!
The Many Meanings of Too
Host John McWhorter finds linguistic inspiration in an 80-year-old musical performance of Rubber Dolly.
Sicko, Whacko, Weirdo
The -o suffix traces back to old comic strip characters with names like Knocko and Groucho. Neato!
Chinese Has No Grammar, Right? Wrong!
Mandarin might not have gender or case endings but there's more to grammar than conjugations.
From Uptalk to Vocal Fry, Women Are Prolific Language Innovators
Want to hear what English will sound like in the future? Talk to a woman.