Some people work hard to lose their accent in order to fit in. Others may be homesick for the voices they grew up with and try to reclaim them. How can you regain your old accent? Also, a compelling book about scientific taxonomy shows how humans...
Jane in Denver, Colorado, is a fan of audiobooks, but wonders if there’s a better word than read to denote having experienced such a book by listening. Some people have suggested ear reading or audio reading or simply experiencing a book. Or...
A hundred years ago, suffragists lobbied to win women the right to vote. Linguistically speaking, though, suffrage isn’t about “suffering.” It’s from a Latin word that involves voting. Plus: military cadences often include...
If you’re in a book club, how do you decide what books to read? There are lots of different ways, depending on your group’s goals. And is it ever wise to correct someone who mispronounces a word? Sometimes you have to decide if...
If you catch your blue jeans on a nail, you may find yourself with a winklehawk. This term, adapted into English from Dutch, means “an L-shaped tear in a piece of fabric.” And: What’s your relationship with the books on your...
Inspired by our conversation about the word lapslock, a Berkeley, California, listener pens a funny ditty based on an E.E. Cummings poem, “anyone lived in a pretty how town.” When Cummings read the original poem aloud, he recited it...