In the novel Jane Eyre, characters sometimes speak whole sentences in French. A high school English teacher says her students wonder if there’s a term for inserting whole sentences from another language into fiction. Grant talks about the use...
Does the language you speak shape how you think? The hosts discuss an essay on that topic adapted from the new book Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages by Buy Deutscher This is part of a complete episode.
Why do physicians speak of turfing an undesirable patient? This is part of a complete episode.
If you’re driving and need to turn 180 degrees, you make a U-turn. But what do you make if you speak a language that doesn’t include the letter “U”? If you’re a Hindi speaker, what do you call wearing a V-neck sweater...
Is “Ouch!” a universal word, or does what you say when you stub your toe depend on what language you speak? This is part of a complete episode.
In an earlier episode, Martha explained the origin of the expression to boot, meaning “in addition” or “besides.” That prompted an email from a listener wanting to know why we speak of booting a computer. Grant has the answer...