Category: grammar (page 1 of 3)

369: The Grammarian Is In (with Ellen Jovin and Pete Swanton)

If you’re at a park in New York City, you may see someone at a table offering free grammar advice.

That person is writer Ellen Jovin, and she dispenses wisdom from her Grammar Table. What motivates her to do …

339: How English Could Be Way Cooler

Other languages have good ideas too, you know.

Have you noticed something cool about another language, and wished English did that? Is there any feature of another language that you wish English had?

Daniel and Hedvig are engaging in a …

325: Mailbag of Moisture

It’s another dive into the Mailbag.

What’s the hardest language to lip read? Why do we say but at the end of sentences? And what can you call the non-binary parent in your life?

Daniel, Kylie, and Ben

318: Mailbag of Awesome

We get mail. From you. And today, we’re answering your questions.

How has jazz influenced our language? And what if you like language diversity, but you’re not too keen on how it’s used?

Daniel and Kylie answer them all on …

315: Grammar Day

Grammar Day is coming soon. Which rules can you safely ignore?

Is it okay for nouns to become verbs and vice versa? What’s wrong with passive voice? And how can you have a healthy grammar outlook?

Daniel, Ben, …

305: Updating Shakespeare (featuring the artists of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival)

Time to check in on Shakespeare.

Away from the glare of the footlights, the Play On! project is underway to translate all the Bard’s works into Present-Day English. How is it progressing? What’s staying, and what’s going?

We’re talking to …

300: Is Grammar Elitist?

Does grammar matter?

On one side: the language sticklers, who hold that good grammar is a necessity for communication, and even a matter of upholding standards and courtesy. But there’s another side: that grammar rules are often just made up, …

285: Quick Shots

For this episode, we put out the call to listeners, and they responded. Daniel’s taking questions and giving answers.

Should we be fustrated or listen to vinyls? Is a movie based on or based off a true story? How …

277: All About Accents

Accents are like opinions: everybody’s got one. But how do opinions affect accents?

Listeners want to know: Why do people seem to lose their accent when they sing? And is there any reason why we think some accents sound attractive …

262: Universal Grammar

Why do all human languages resemble each other? And how do children learn language so fast?

For many linguists, the answer is Universal Grammar. It’s one of the biggest ideas in linguistics, but now it might possibly be coming unstuck. …

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