Synopsis
Lexicon Valley is a show about language, from pet peeves, syntax, and etymology to neurolinguistics and the death of languages. Hosted by linguist John McWhorter.
Episodes
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![Thanksgiving Misnomers]()
Thanksgiving Misnomers
28/11/2017 Duration: 36minTurkey? Pumpkin? Squash? They're all mistakes. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![Sometimes Just Because]()
Sometimes Just Because
14/11/2017 Duration: 32minLanguage is often at the mercy of pure chance. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![Against Strunk White]()
Against Strunk & White
31/10/2017 Duration: 33minIt's time to permanently shelve the Elements of Style. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![Whence Baby Mama?]()
Whence Baby Mama?
17/10/2017 Duration: 38minJohn McWhorter answers questions from Lexicon Valley listeners. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![Este No Es Parqueo]()
Este No Es Parqueo
03/10/2017 Duration: 36minAfter parking in front of a garage, John received a note written in Spanish. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![From Pidgins to Creoles]()
From Pidgins to Creoles
19/09/2017 Duration: 39minJohn McWhorter discusses the process by which some new languages are born. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![Do Languages Simplify Over Time?]()
Do Languages Simplify Over Time?
05/09/2017 Duration: 32minOld English was arguably more complicated than Modern English. Is that true of all languages? Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![Did Cavebabies Say Mama and Papa?]()
Did Cavebabies Say Mama and Papa?
22/08/2017 Duration: 32minLanguages across the world developed similar words for mom and dad. How is that possible? Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![New Life for Dying Languages]()
New Life for Dying Languages
08/08/2017 Duration: 37minThe Language Conservancy's Wil Meya discusses the effort to revive Native American languages. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![In the Negative]()
In the Negative
25/07/2017 Duration: 32minJohn McWhorter on the history and evolution of no and not. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![Why Do Languages Have Contractions?]()
Why Do Languages Have Contractions?
11/07/2017 Duration: 36minJohn McWhorter explains why we love shrinkage. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![The Incredible Lightness of Being]()
The Incredible Lightness of Being
27/06/2017 Duration: 29minJohn McWhorter considers the eccentric irregularity of the verb to be. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![Is There a Jewish Way of Talking?]()
Is There a Jewish Way of Talking?
13/06/2017 Duration: 38minJohn McWhorter interrupts the hosts of Unorthodox to discuss hallmarks and stereotypes of Jewish communication style. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![Mining Graffiti for Slang]()
Mining Graffiti for Slang
30/05/2017 Duration: 32minJohn McWhorter talks to Ben Zimmer about the Vietnam Graffiti Project and other slangy topics. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![Thats Not a Word, Is It?]()
That's Not a Word, Is It?
16/05/2017 Duration: 31minJohn McWhorter discusses the near-futile impulse to determine what is, and what is not, a word. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![The Language of Female Friendships]()
The Language of Female Friendships
02/05/2017 Duration: 36minJohn McWhorter discusses communication styles with linguist Deborah Tannen, author of You're the Only One I Can Tell: Inside the Language of Women's Friendships. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![The Euphemism Treadmill]()
The Euphemism Treadmill
18/04/2017 Duration: 28minJohn McWhorter on the evolution from "crippled" to "handicapped" to "differently abled" and why no such term is likely to stick around long. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![Heyo, Lets Talk About Hamilton]()
Heyo, Let's Talk About Hamilton
04/04/2017 Duration: 31minJohn McWhorter talks to linguist Neal Whitman about the mash-up of hey and yo. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![Earlier American English—More Profane, Parochial and Provincial]()
Earlier American English—More Profane, Parochial and Provincial
21/03/2017 Duration: 32minJohn McWhorter time travels to 1930 and eavesdrops on American English. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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![Like, Why Do We Use Like So Much?]()
Like, Why Do We Use Like So Much?
07/02/2017 Duration: 35minJohn McWhorter talks to sociolinguist Alexandra D'Arcy about the spike in our use of like. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
