Do spelling bees exist outside the United States? Not really. English is unique for how vast and complicated it is, which makes our bees pretty exciting. In France, they have competitions for taking dictation, and the Chinese hold races for looking...
Have a question about objective pronouns? Whom ya gonna call? Wait–is that right? Or would it be “who ya gonna call”? “Whom” may be technically correct, but insisting on it can get you called an elitist. It’s enough to make you nervous as a polecat...
A Panama City, Florida, caller wants to know the origin of kowtow, as in “to agree in an excessively eager or annoying way.” Kowtow comes from a Chinese term that means “to bow extremely low out of respect,” from words that literally mean “knock...
Martha and Grant offer gift recommendations for language lovers: Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages, by Guy Deutscher. OK: The Improbable Story of America’s Greatest Word, by Allan Metcalf. Lost in Lexicon:...
Martha and Grant revisit the “apple core, Baltimore” game they discussed a few episodes ago. Many listeners learned it from this Donald Duck cartoon. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Apple Core, Baltimore Game” Not too long ago, we...
If English isn’t your first language, there are lots of ways to learn it, such as memorizing Barack Obama’s speech to the 2004 Democratic Convention. Martha and Grant talk about some of the unusual ways foreigners are learning to speak English...
