Category: spelling (page 1 of 3)

381: A Hard Spell (Live Q&A)

What words do you constantly misspell? Are there any that make you stop and think every time you type them? We put out the call to our listeners for spelling bugbears, and we were inundated with responses. So we turned …

368: Poetry (with Pete Swanton)

Poetry isn’t (just) enjoyable, it can be useful.

It can help us with language learning and memorisation, and help us in historical linguistics. And even computers are getting into poetry generation, probably because they want to learn the secret of …

364: Mailbag of R-R-R-R

The questions never stop, and neither do we.

  • What’s the past tense of yeet, and why is English past tense so strange?
  • Can etymology help you spell rhythm?
  • Should French teachers have to speak with a Parisian accent?

334: Mailbag of Darkness

It’s time once again to dig into our overflowing mailbag.

  • What’s the difference between a hill, a mountain, and a mount?
  • Why do we seem to add a negative suffix to positive words, and not the other

Solo shows mid-2018

We’re on our customary mid-year hiatus, but Daniel’s still having a great time in the studio, taking your questions, playing tracks, and talking about whatever’s happening in the world of language.

We’re thinking of putting together a best-of for the …

328: She Writes Dictionaries (featuring Jane Solomon)

Dictionaries don’t just write themselves, you know. And lexicographers have some pretty cool tricks to do what they do.

How do they spot new words? And how can their definitions influence our lives?

We’re talking to lexicographer Jane Solomon on …

319: The Prodigal Tongue (featuring Lynne Murphy)

British and American English have always had a love-hate relationship.

British people (and Australians) often blame Americans for somehow tarnishing the language, and they fret about creeping Americanism. But people are terrible at identifying what the Americanisms actually are. How …

301: Mailbag of Wonder

We’re taking your questions on this episode.

What’s happening with tildes and Facebook? Can you have a big huge balloon, or could it also be huge big? And if you move a meeting forward, is it later or …

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, …

295: Yawuru (featuring Dalisa Pigram) – live at the Disrupted Festival

The Talk the Talk team takes the stage in a special live episode at the Disrupted Festival.

The Yawuru language of Western Australia has been going dormant, but many courageous teachers are bringing it back for a new generation. …

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