Lexicon Valley

A podcast about language, from pet peeves to syntax.

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About the Show

If you’ve ever had curious thoughts and questions about the ways we speak, read, and write, Lexicon Valley is the show for you. Hosted by linguist John McWhorter.

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In What Order Did Languages Arrive in Europe?

DNA analysis is revealing which speakers traveled where and when.

Digging Up the Past

Let’s talk about how we talk about that which already occurred.

Verbs on the Move

Coming and going in languages around the world.

Does Processes Rhyme With Knees?

How our idea of formality can affect the way we say certain words.

A Bisl Yiddish

Add to German a large helping of Hebrew and a dollop of Slavic. Stir. Let marinate. Enjoy!

Private Parts

What does a rooster have to do with male genitalia anyway?

The Soft Power of Like

Terms such as like and sort of are ways for English speakers to sound more polite.

Men, Women, and Children

What is it with people and animals and irregular plurals?

Zombie English

From vocabulary to grammar, long-dead elements of the language still haunt our everyday speech.

Let’s Do Lunch

Come table-hopping as we discuss the linguistic quirks of some mealtime terms.

How to Think Like a Linguist

Never mind those 26 letters—the English language has 44 unique sounds.

Has English Gotten Less Complex?

English has shed many of its nuances over the centuries. Take pronouns, for example.

S–t, Hell, and Darn

Dissecting three common curse words.

This Family Speaks 1,200 Languages

From Madagascar to Easter Island, Austronesian tongues traveled far and wide with early seafarers.

Language vs. Dialect

The difference between a language and a dialect is mostly meaningless and entirely political.

The Internet Loves the Exclamation Point!!

A conversation with linguist Gretchen McCulloch about her new book, Because Internet.

Why Is “Ph” Pronounced That Way?

The answer is positively phantastic.

Does Language Affect Thought?

We revisit the popular notion that our language helps shape our worldview.

A Fleeting Glance

The word transient reveals some enduring patterns in English pronunciation and etymology.

The Romance Languages

John McWhorter on the Romance languages.