The 5-Minute Linguist is a book of short, accessible essays by linguists who answer the questions they commonly hear from laypersons. For example, what’s the difference between a language and a dialect? What causes someone to have a foreign accent...
If everyone on the planet spoke a single language, wouldn’t that make life a whole lot easier? For that matter, is a common world language even possible? Maybe for a minute or so—until new words and phrases start springing up. Also, did you ever...
A Chinese proverb says, “He who asks a question is a fool for a minute. He who does not remains a fool forever.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Chinese Proverb Fool” You know, one of the things about this show, Grant, is that...
What do we mean by the expression “not to mince words”? The New York Times’ Paul Krugman often uses this idiom meaning “to be straightforward and blunt.” The verb mince means “to make small,” and is a linguistic relative of such words as diminish...
telco hotel n.— «“I live in Chula Vista. For me to get to the closest data center, it’s a 45-minute drive on a typical day,” he said. And, those San Diego data centers are filling up. Most are clustered at Scranton Road in La Jolla and Complex...
worm grunting n.— «Earthworms are sensitive to low-frequency vibrations. These drive some types of earthworms to the surface, and in the southeastern US is used in a practice known as “worm grunting,” by scraping a piece of metal on a wooden stake...
