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Welcome to the Valley!
Lexicon Valley is an audio show dissecting this messy, maddening and thoroughly wonderful thing we call language.
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Biblical scholar Mark Ward discusses his forthcoming book, Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstud...
· 31 min 15 sec
Turkey? Pumpkin? Squash? They're all mistakes. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
· 33 min 8 sec
Language is often at the mercy of pure chance. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
· 29 min 6 sec
It's time to permanently shelve the Elements of Style. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
· 29 min 40 sec
John McWhorter answers questions from Lexicon Valley listeners. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
· 34 min 53 sec
After parking in front of a garage, John received a note written in Spanish. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
· 33 min 5 sec
John McWhorter discusses the process by which some new languages are born. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
· 34 min 40 sec
Old English was arguably more complicated than Modern English. Is that true of all languages? Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
· 28 min 51 sec
Languages across the world developed similar words for mom and dad. How is that possible? Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
· 28 min 38 sec
The Language Conservancy's Wil Meya discusses the effort to revive Native American languages. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
· 34 min 3 sec
John McWhorter on the history and evolution of no and not. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
· 28 min 49 sec
John McWhorter explains why we love shrinkage. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
· 32 min 50 sec
John McWhorter considers the eccentric irregularity of the verb to be. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
· 26 min 2 sec
John McWhorter interrupts the hosts of Unorthodox to discuss hallmarks and stereotypes of Jewish communication style. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmarts...
· 35 min 3 sec
John McWhorter talks to Ben Zimmer about the Vietnam Graffiti Project and other slangy topics. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValle...
· 28 min 39 sec
John McWhorter discusses the near-futile impulse to determine what is, and what is not, a word. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconVall...
· 27 min 36 sec
John McWhorter discusses communication styles with linguist Deborah Tannen, author of You're the Only One I Can Tell: Inside the Language of Women's Friendships. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: fac...
· 32 min 43 sec
John McWhorter on the evolution from "crippled" to "handicapped" to "differently abled" -- and why no such term is likely to stick around long. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconV...
· 25 min 29 sec
John McWhorter talks to linguist Neal Whitman about the mash-up of hey and yo. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley
· 27 min 36 sec
More profane, parochial and provincial: John McWhorter time travels to 1930 and eavesdrops on American English. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios....
· 29 min 20 sec