Show Notes
John McWhorter on language change — from the meaning of wit to the pronunciation of automobile. Plus, a defense of redundancy!
Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 294: "The Sound of a Car Backshifting." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Lexicon Valley
From Ukraine to Maori to Emilian, a conversation with author Sophia Smith Galer about language suppression, revitalization and death.
An investigation into the nuclear origins of "bang for the buck." Plus, we get buck-naked!
An interview with science-fiction author S.L. Huang, whose experience learning languages informed their most recent novella, The Language of Liars.
Was Perry Como the original Mr. Nice Guy? And who again was Perry Como? Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield explain.
What does a cement mixer and a 1948 Cosmopolitan magazine article have to do with the phrase Nice Guys Finish Last? Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield explain.