1096. This week, we look at the world of emoji with Keith Houston, author of "Face with Tears of Joy." He discusses the long history of emoji, from ancient origins to early computer character sets, and the formal process of proposing new emoji to the Unicode Consortium. We also look at how emoji can be blends of multiple characters and tell us more about cultural, generational, and political attitudes.

Keith Houston - Shadycharacters.co.uk

Keith's book - "Face with Tears of Joy"

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| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
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1095. Is “sick” really “good”? This week, we explore how words flip their meanings and why language changes over time. Then, we look at the 1950s idea of "U and Non-U English" and what it tells us about social climbing.

The "sick" segment was written by Natalie Schilling, a professor emerita of linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and who runs a forensic linguistics consulting firm. You can find her on LinkedIn.

The "posh" segment was by Karen Lunde, a former Quick & Dirty Tips editor and digital pioneer who's been spinning words into gold since before cat videos ruled the internet. She created one of the first online writing workshops, and she's published thousands of articles on the art of writing. These days, she leads personal narrative writing retreats and helps writers find their voice. Visit her at ChanterelleStoryStudio.com.

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| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
• Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
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• Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

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1094. Have you ever wondered about the linguistic techniques behind popular children's podcasts? This week, we talk with Doug Fraser, also known as Dougie Pickles from the "Cozy Critters" podcast, who explains his strategic use of language to soothe and captivate kids. We also hear his insights on what makes successful children's content, including the importance of varied sentence length, the power of word choice and musicality in language.

Doug Fraser - https://www.facebook.com/doug.fraser.733

Doug's podcast - "Cozy Critters"

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| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
• Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
• Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
• Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

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1093. Why do we say “prob’ly” instead of “probably”? This week, we look at elision in everyday speech. Then, we look at a wild study showing that the way people talk is being influenced by AI.

The elision segment was by Susan K. Herman, a retired multidisciplined language analyst, editor, and instructor for the federal government.

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| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
• Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
• Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
• Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.

1092. Your accent may be saying more than your words. Sociolinguist Rob Drummond explains how accents shape our identities, how they differ across social classes, and why changing your accent can affect how you’re perceived.

Rob Drummond - https://bsky.app/profile/robdrummond.bsky.social

Rob's book, "You're All Talk"

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| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
• Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
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| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

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1091.  Is the em dash a sign of AI writing? I looked at where the idea comes from, and we have the final answer! Then, we look at the difference between "caregiver" and "caretaker."

The "'caregiver" and "caretaker'" segment was written by Jim Norrena, MFA, who has been writing and editing for more than thirty-five years. He’s the founder of TypoSuction.com, an independent editing/writing service. He's taught grammar and copyediting intensives and professional proofreading workshops at Media Alliance and served as events coordinator for Bay Area Editors’ Forum (BAEF). Visit Linkedin.com/in/jimnorrena/ for his complete work history and highlighted projects.

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| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
• Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
• Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
• Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.

1090. Your hands may be saying more than your words. Lauren Gawne explains how gestures shape communication, how they differ across cultures, and why removing gestures can make your speech less fluent.

Lauren Gawne → Superlinguo

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| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
• Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
• Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
• Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.

1089. Do you wonder when you should use "further" or "farther"? We have the answer (where there is one). Then, you’ve seen lorem ipsum everywhere, but what does it mean? And where did it come from?

The "lorem ipsum" segment was written by Jim Norrena, MFA, who has been writing and editing for more than thirty-five years. He’s the founder of TypoSuction.com, an independent editing/writing service. He's taught grammar and copyediting intensives and professional proofreading workshops at Media Alliance and served as events coordinator for Bay Area Editors’ Forum (BAEF). Visit Linkedin.com/in/jimnorrena/ for his complete work history and highlighted projects.

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| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
• Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
• Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
• Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.

1088. He says he hates AI writing, but he's also the CEO of the company behind Draftsmith, an AI editing tool. Today, I talk with Daniel Heuman about editing, AI, energy use, and how tools like DraftSmith try to help without replacing human editors.

Draftsmith → draftsmith.ai

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| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
• Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
• Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
• Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.

1087. You use the word "the" hundreds of times a day, but are you pronouncing it wrong? Today I have the rules I never learned about whether to say “thuh” or “thee.” Then, we look at why Latin died (and why "died" isn't quite the right way to describe it).

The "Latin" segment is by Karen Lunde, a career writer and editor. In the late '90s, as a young mom with two kids and a dog, she founded one of the internet's first writing workshop communities. These days, she facilitates expressive writing workshops, both online and off. Find her at chanterellestorystudio.com

🔗 AP style webinar. Code MACMIL for $50 off

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| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
• Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings
• Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
• Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook.Threads. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon. Bluesky.