Among academics, the word planful is used to describe someone methodical or skilled at planning. Whether this term catches on in the same way that the count nouns learnings has remains to be seen. This is part of a complete episode.
Paloma from Escondido, California, asks about how the hosts developed their attitudes toward language. We share some of those influences, which include, in Martha’s case, studying Ancient Greek for 12 years with a polyglot professor, and in...
Our discussion about cursive handwriting and whether it should be taught in schools brought a tremendous response from listeners. Most agreed that there are so many benefits to learning to write this way that it’s well worth the time and...
Destiny from Huntington Beach, California, speaks German proficiently, plus some Spanish. She’s now learning Russian, but finds herself frustrated as she reaches instead for Spanish words for the same thing. This phenomenon is so common among...
How often do you hear the words campaign and political in the same breath? Oddly enough, 19th-century grammarians railed against using campaign to mean “an electoral contest.” Martha and Grant discuss why. And, lost in translation: a...
“Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.” This may be a Jewish proverb, although its provenance is uncertain. In any case, it’s a reminder that while young people still have much to...