Flexible. Funny. Foul.

This most versatile of English words is all of these and more. And it gets a thorough cataloging in The F-Word by lexicographer Jesse Sheidlower.

He sits down with Daniel for a chat on history, power, and language on this episode of Talk the Talk.

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Promo

Promo with Jeff Buller, 2019-03-26: The F Word

Animation

by the Mystery Animator

Full interview

Interview with Jesse Sheidlower (complete)

Daniel has a chat wth Jesse Sheidlower, lexicographer and author of The F-Word, a scholarly tome that’s also a ripping read. 

How far back does this word go? What makes a word slang or jargon? What’s happening with lexicography today? Daniel and Jesse go over all this and more.

Thanks to Jesse for this interview, and thanks also to the Linguistic Society of America for making it possible.

Also at https://www.patreon.com/posts/26557054

Cutting Room Floor

Cutting Room Floor 357: The F-Word

Ben and Daniel present a bonus news story we didn’t include in the main show. 

And a discussion about kids and swearing leads to a surprising discovery: Ben has a weird semantic gap.

Also at https://www.patreon.com/posts/26558915

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Show notes

Q by creative agency Virtue is the world’s first gender-neutral voice
https://www.dezeen.com/2019/03/22/q-gender-neutral-voice-technology-virtue/

There’s a reason Siri, Alexa and AI are imagined as female – sexism
https://theconversation.com/theres-a-reason-siri-alexa-and-ai-are-imagined-as-female-sexism-96430

The Real Reason Voice Assistants Are Female (and Why it Matters) – PCMag Australia
https://au.pcmag.com/opinions/51146/the-real-reason-voice-assistants-are-female-and-why-it-matte

Siri And Cortana Sound Like Ladies Because Of Sexism
https://www.wired.com/2015/10/why-siri-cortana-voice-interfaces-sound-female-sexism/

The Push For A Gender-Neutral Siri : NPR
https://www.npr.org/2018/07/09/627266501/the-push-for-a-gender-neutral-siri

Brain region discovered that only processes spoken, not written words – Northwestern Now
https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2019/03/ppa-visual-auditory/

Preferential Disruption of Auditory Word Representations in… : Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology
https://journals.lww.com/cogbehavneurol/Abstract/2019/03000/Preferential_Disruption_of_Auditory_Word.7.aspx

Jesse Sheidlower: jessesword.com
https://www.jessesword.com/

The F-Word – Jesse Sheidlower, Lewis Black – Oxford University Press
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-f-word-9780195393118?cc=au&lang=en&

Rashida Tlaib on Trump: “We’re going to impeach this motherfucker!” – Vox
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/4/18168157/rashida-tlaib-trump-impeachment-motherfucker

I watched chuggers to see who they approached. I wasn’t surprised
https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/street-harassment-for-a-good-cause-20180801-p4zuu1.html

Street fundraisers raised more than $120 million for Australian charities in 2018, report reveals – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-04/charity-street-fundraisers-raise-plenty-of-money-report-reveals/10614810

Dictionary of Contemporary Slang – Tony Thorne – Google Books
Google Books link

Etymonline: mug
https://www.etymonline.com/word/mug

Anti-Brexit march: The People’s Vote march in London in 19 photos – Vox
https://www.vox.com/world/2019/3/23/18278647/anti-brexit-march-photos-peoples-vote-protest-nigel-farage

Omnishambles named word of the year by Oxford English Dictionary – BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-20309441

Omnishambles: Word of the Year 2012 | Oxford Dictionaries
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/word-of-the-year/word-of-the-year-2012

Tory voters: are you happy with your purchase? / Boing Boing
https://boingboing.net/2019/01/17/you-bought-it-you-broke-it.html

How Parents Are Robbing Their Children of Adulthood
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/16/style/snowplow-parenting-scandal.html

The Story Behind Jared Kushner’s Curious Acceptance Into Harvard — ProPublica
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-story-behind-jared-kushners-curious-acceptance-into-harvard

Transcript

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