Lexicon Valley

Latest Episodes:

Age, Color, Origin, Material Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

In this favorite from the archives, John discusses some unwritten rules of English that can be remarkably difficult for a learner of English to master.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 95: "Age, Color, Origin, Material." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

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One for the Record Books Mar 06, 2023

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The word “record” can be broken down into two parts, the '-re' and the '-cord.' But what do those parts even mean?

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 256: "One for the Record Books." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

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Why Do People in Old Movies Talk Like That? Feb 20, 2023

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An encore presentation of a much loved episode about the speech patterns of Bette Davis, George Gershwin, Louis Armstrong and countless other Americans of the 1930s. Why do they all sound like that?

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 96: "Why Do People in Old Movies Talk Like That?" With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

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Past Master Feb 05, 2023

Show notes

So many of our words have ugly associations that are particular to a historical time or event. Should we expunge them entirely from our vocabulary? Can we?

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 255: "Past Master." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

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Are You Tryna Hear This? Jan 22, 2023

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Words that come to mean “want” often start out meaning something else. Take “want,” for example.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 254: "Are You Tryna Hear This?" With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

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The Ambassadors Jan 07, 2023

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Henry James wrote his final novels just over a century ago — and yet somehow they are far less accessible than works written much earlier.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 253: "The Ambassadors." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

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Apostrophe S Dec 26, 2022

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Possession is more or less about ownership, and we denote that in English by adding ’s to the end of a word. But of course there’s far more to the story than just that.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 252: "Apostrophe S." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

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Is "Knocked Up" Racist? Dec 13, 2022

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There’s a rumor going around social networks that “knocked up” traces back to American slave trading. Is there any evidence for that etymology?

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 251: "Is 'Knocked Up' Racist?" With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

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What a Young Brain Can Do Nov 11, 2022

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It’s tempting to imagine that a sentence will translate rather neatly, word by word, from one language to another. It’s also naive.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 250: "What a Young Brain Can Do." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

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What Do You Talk? Oct 29, 2022

Show notes

The book and lyrics of 'The Music Man' are replete with everyday, ordinary dialogue that, nevertheless, demonstrates how English often works.

Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 249: "What Do You Talk?" With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.

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