
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Scrabble and other similar games have been the subject of an ongoing lexicographic debate in recent years, with some arguing that ethnic slurs have no place in the official dictionary or on the board. Many tournament players, however, decry the banning of words — the game, they say, is merely descriptivist.
Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 225: "Can You Play 'Jew' in Scrabble?" With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
By Lexicon Valley4.8
560560 ratings
Scrabble and other similar games have been the subject of an ongoing lexicographic debate in recent years, with some arguing that ethnic slurs have no place in the official dictionary or on the board. Many tournament players, however, decry the banning of words — the game, they say, is merely descriptivist.
Visit Lexicon Valley. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 225: "Can You Play 'Jew' in Scrabble?" With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

91,297 Listeners

43,837 Listeners

32,246 Listeners

6,881 Listeners

26,242 Listeners

3,013 Listeners

9,238 Listeners

3,632 Listeners

2,267 Listeners

6,481 Listeners

4,203 Listeners

651 Listeners

5,109 Listeners

2,030 Listeners

145 Listeners

125 Listeners