Word Matters

Latest Episodes:

The History of the English Language (The Podcast) Feb 02, 2022

Show notes

English is often called a "Germanic" language, and yet huge parts of it come from Latin and Greek. So: what gives? Here's the story of English, in 17 minutes.

Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.

Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.

Transcript available here.

Sponsored by University of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education. For more information, please visit: ce.uci.edu/learnnow

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Words That Began as Metaphors Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

Usually, a word begins with a literal, concrete meaning. (Like concrete, for example.) Then, eventually, it starts being used metaphorically. (Hey again, concrete!)

But with these words, that's not the case. These words began as metaphors and then went backwards.

Then: what's the difference between ferment and foment?

Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.

Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.

Transcript available here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Inside Our Citation Files Jan 19, 2022

Show notes

Our Springfield office holds a file of 16 million alphabetized scraps of paper, each containing a citation for a word. Some of them are from as far back as the 19th century. Many are written by hand. So... how did we create this bit of living history? It's a long story.

Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.

Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.

Transcript available here.

Our podcast is sponsored by Betterhelp. To receive 10% off your first month, visit betterhelp.com/matters

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Getting Philosophical About the Dictionary Jan 12, 2022

Show notes

Should we only enter words everyone knows, or does the dictionary need to cover the obscure as well? The answer is, well, pretty philosophical.

Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.

Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.

Transcript available here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Newest Words in the Dictionary Jan 05, 2022

Show notes

We recently added a whole bunch of new words. Here are some of our favorites!

Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.

Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.

Transcript available here.

Our podcast is sponsored by University of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education. For more information, please visit: ce.uci.edu/learnnow

And we are sponsored by Betterhelp. To receive 10% off your first month, visit betterhelp.com/matters

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Year in Words 2021 Dec 15, 2021

Show notes

Last week we told you about our Word of the Year. This week, we'll get into the rest of the words that made up 2021.

Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.

Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.

Transcript available here.

Sponsored by University of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education. For more information, please visit: ce.uci.edu/learnnow

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our Word of the Year 2021 Dec 08, 2021

Show notes

The word 'vaccine' was about much more than just medicine this year. Here's what we looked at to make it our 2021 Word of the Year.

Read up on 'vaccine' and the rest of the runners up here.

Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.

Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.

Transcript available here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Researching Slang (with Ben Zimmer) Dec 01, 2021

Show notes

This week we're joined by Wall Street Journal language columnist and Spectacular Vernacular podcast host Ben Zimmer! Learn all about Ben's research on the history of words like 'hella' and 'Ms.', plus how slang is studied and tracked through time.

Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.

Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.

Transcript available here.

Our podcast is sponsored by Betterhelp. To receive 10% off your first month, visit betterhelp.com/matters

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Why Is There No 'N' in 'Restaurateur'? Nov 24, 2021

Show notes

First: someone who owns or runs a restaurant is called a restaurateur. What? How did that happen? Is 'restauranteur' a valid word? We'll get into it.

Then: why do people say 'meteoric rise' when meteors are famously things that fall?

Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.

Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.

Transcript available here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

'Decimate': Use It However You Want Nov 17, 2021

Show notes

Few words in the English language get people as riled up as the supposed "incorrect" use of 'decimate.' Does it have to keep its Roman meaning of "reduce by one tenth" or can it generally mean "destroy," as it's been used by millions of speakers for hundreds of years? (Hint: see title.)

Then we'll look at the language of invitations, and the rescinding thereof: yep, it's the difference between 'disinvite' and 'uninvite.'

Hosted by Emily Brewster, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.

Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.

Transcript available here.

Sponsored by University of California Irvine Division of Continuing Education. For more information, please visit: ce.uci.edu/learnnow

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.