We are once again diving into our voluminous mailbag.
Was the QWERTY layout designed to slow you down? Is English a creole language? Why does a word keep popping up over and over after you first hear it? And what is …
Category: skepticism (page 1 of 3)
That study about language looks interesting. Can you trust the results?
Lots of researchers are using big data to discover amazing things about language. But big data can bring big trouble if researchers don’t look out for some common traps. …
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, …
Just how linguistic is neuro-linguistic programming, or NLP?
Some people think it can help you win friends and influence people. And a lot of people are making a lot of money from it. But what about its language claims?
Daniel…
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, …
Freedom of expression is again in the news.
Simon Tam has won his case before the US Supreme Court, allowing him to trademark the name of his all-Asian rock band, the Slants. But this ruling opens the door to …
What kind of jokes would computers write?
Humour is a very human thing to do, but can computers learn to do it? They will, if the new generation of computational linguists has their way. But what would a computer find …
What exactly is a sandwich?
The question is tearing the internet apart. Is a hot dog a sandwich? What about a burrito? How do we even know what a sandwich is? Or anything else?
We have an answer, but it’s …
Looks like Shakespeare’s got some company.
A new edition of Shakespeare’s works credits another author — Christopher Marlowe — with some of the Bard’s work. But how can you tell? Is this just another Shakespearean conspiracy theory? And what does …
With words, things are not always what they seem.
An etymology is a story about how a word or phrase got to be that way. How did your favourite phrases come about? Is it possible that the origins you’ve heard …
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Awards
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- CBAA Awards 2018: Best Radio Program — Talk
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- Talkley Award 2018
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