Lexicon Valley

By Slate Podcasts

Society & Culture Education

What's Lexicon Valley about?

Lexicon Valley is a show about language, from pet peeves, syntax, and etymology to neurolinguistics and the death of languages. Hosted by linguist John McWhorter.

4.5

2,149 ratings

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LAST EPISODE

Zombie English

10.29.2019

Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Long-dead elements of the language still haunt our everyday speech. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lexicon Valley episodes:

10.29.2019 Zombie English Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Long-dead elements of the language still haunt our everyday speech. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
10.16.2019 Let's Do Lunch Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Come table-hopping as we discuss the linguistic quirks of some mealtime terms. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
10.01.2019 How to Think Like a Linguist Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Never mind those 26 letters—the English language has 44 unique sounds. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
09.17.2019 Has English Gotten Less Complex? Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. English has shed many of its nuances over the centuries. Take pronouns, for example. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
09.03.2019 S#!t, Hell and Darn Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Curse words can reveal a lot about language. S#!t, hell and darn, to name three, contain countless linguistic lessons. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive ...
08.19.2019 This Family Speaks 1,200 Languages Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. From Madagascar to Easter Island, Austronesian tongues traveled far and wide with early seafarers. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign ...
08.06.2019 Language vs. Dialect Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. The difference between a language and a dialect is mostly meaningless and entirely political. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign ...
07.23.2019 The Internet Loves the Exclamation Point!! Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. A conversation with linguist Gretchen McCulloch about her new book, Because Internet. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for ...
07.09.2019 Why Is "Ph" Pronounced That Way? Why is ph pronounced that way? The answer is positively phantastic. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more ...
06.25.2019 Does Language Affect Thought? We revisit the popular notion that our language helps shapes our worldview. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn ...
06.11.2019 A Fleeting Glance The word transient reveals some enduring patterns in English pronunciation and etymology. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn ...
05.28.2019 The Romance Languages What an ancient, undecipherable manuscript says—and doesn't say—about Latin and its spawn. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn ...
05.14.2019 Why Do Some Americans Say Warshed? The letter R has a habit of intruding on spoken English. How come? Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com ...
04.29.2019 Flores Man vs. Sulawesi A linguistic mystery in the Lesser Sunda Islands. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad ...
04.16.2019 The Lingua Francas A conversation with Gaston Dorren, author of Babel: Around the World in Twenty Languages. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: ...
04.02.2019 Can Climate Influence Language? Tonal languages evolved mostly in hot and humid places. What would explain that? Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com ...
03.19.2019 When Ain't Was Alright What we can learn about English from am, the seemingly simplest verb. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn ...
03.05.2019 The Semitic Tongues Where did Arabic, Hebrew, Amharic and their kin originate? And what is a triconsonantal root? Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley ...
02.19.2019 Precious Little This episode is brought to you by Babbel. Try for free today at babbel.com/lexicon. How an old word for child morphed into a versatile, and very modern, suffix. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. ...
02.06.2019 When Words Collide This episode is brought to you by Babbel. Try for free today at babbel.com/lexicon. Some more of the many ways that neologisms form. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free ...
01.22.2019 Truth Be Told This episode is brought to you by Babbel. Try for free today at babbel.com/lexicon. An actually very literal discussion of true words. Really! Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free ...
01.08.2019 A Penetrating History of F*%k English speakers have been getting it on with the F-word for centuries. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn ...
12.25.2018 When Did English Get Happy? A New Year's meditation on a joyful word. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad ...
12.13.2018 Sponsored: Adjusting the Lens on Chronic Disease More than half of Americans are currently living with one or more serious, preventable, chronic diseases. These rates are expected to increase significantly over the next two decades. In this episode of Life Effects, host Sara Ivry talks to Gabriel ...
12.11.2018 Why Language Can't Be Tamed A conversation with Lane Greene, author of Talk on the Wild Side, about the "vague and anarchic" nature of language. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at ...
11.27.2018 Is Social Media Changing English? Our speech is becoming more childlike, but not for the reasons you think. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com ...
11.13.2018 What Was the First Language? How far back can we trace, with any accuracy, the spoken word? Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn ...
10.30.2018 So ... Let's Talk About So How long have we been starting our sentences with "so"? Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about ...
10.16.2018 Like-Minded This episode is brought to you by the following advertisers: Slack, a workplace communication hub. Find out more at slack.com. Babbel, the #1-selling language learning app in the world. Get 50% off your 6-month subscription today at babbel.com/lexicon. John McWhorter ...
10.02.2018 Why Do Southerners Talk Like That? John McWhorter dissects the many distinct features that make up Southern speech. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn ...
09.18.2018 The Habitual Past Did you "used to" do something but don't any longer? Where does that expression come from?! Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: ...
09.04.2018 A Riot of Color This episode is brought by RXBAR, a whole-food protein bar, made from real, natural ingredients. For 25% off your first order, visit RXBAR.com/lexicon and enter promo code lexicon. Our word for "red" predates our word for "blue"—and that's true for ...
08.21.2018 The Rise of They John McWhorter says that English pronouns are evolving and it's time to embrace it. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: ...
08.06.2018 Wabbit Twacks John McWhorter applies linguistic analysis to Looney Tunes. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad ...
07.24.2018 Tee Time John McWhorter on what the French Canadian version of The Flintstones can teach us about the letter T. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: ...
07.10.2018 Happy Birthday OED! John McWhorter raises an etymological glass to the nonagenarian Oxford English Dictionary. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn ...
06.26.2018 If Frozen, Why Not Squozen? John McWhorter on language lessons from this year's Tony nominees for Best Musical. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com ...
06.12.2018 The Pronouning of Profanities John McWhorter on the way in which words like fck and sht are increasingly standing in for it and that. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at ...
05.29.2018 One Tongue to Rule Them All John McWhorter on the tantalizing prospect of a universal language. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about ...
05.15.2018 The Art of the Spiel A brief history of oratory from the Gilded Age to the Era of Trump. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: ...
05.09.2018 Lend Me Your Ears: Julius Caesar Lend Me Your Ears is a six-part podcast miniseries exploring how Shakespeare’s works have shaped our modern views on politics. Each month, host Isaac Butler will dig into a different Shakespeare play to explore how Shakespeare was responding to his ...
05.01.2018 Getting to Yes Yes! John McWhorter on our compact, workaday affirmative. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about your ad ...
04.17.2018 The Story of P John McWhorter on why the 16th letter of our alphabet is a fancy little thing. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley ...
04.03.2018 English Spelling Is a Beautiful Mess John McWhorter on why English spelling is so frustratingly idiosyncratic. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about ...
03.20.2018 Did the Founding Fathers Have a British Accent? John McWhorter on what Washington, Franklin and Hamilton may have sounded like. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn ...
03.06.2018 No-Uh! John McWhorter on the rise of an exclamatory syllable in English. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more ...
02.20.2018 The Inner Workings of Out John McWhorter on the rich complexities of a humble preposition. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about ...
02.06.2018 Words, For Her John McWhorter on the origin of woman, girl and other lady terms. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn ...
01.23.2018 What's the Deal with Eleven? John McWhorter on the etymology and pronunciation of English numbers. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn more about ...
01.09.2018 There Are Two N-Words Like gangster and gangsta, nigger and nigga have become two distinct words. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/podcastsplus. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Email: lexiconvalley@slate.com Learn ...

Older episodes

Lexicon Valley

What's Lexicon Valley about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Lexicon Valley episodes:

Zombie English

Let's Do Lunch

How to Think Like a Linguist

Has English Gotten Less Complex?

S#!t, Hell and Darn

This Family Speaks 1,200 Languages

Language vs. Dialect

The Internet Loves the Exclamation Point!!

Why Is "Ph" Pronounced That Way?

Does Language Affect Thought?

A Fleeting Glance

The Romance Languages

Why Do Some Americans Say Warshed?

Flores Man vs. Sulawesi

The Lingua Francas

Can Climate Influence Language?

When Ain't Was Alright

The Semitic Tongues

Precious Little

When Words Collide

Truth Be Told

A Penetrating History of F*%k

When Did English Get Happy?

Sponsored: Adjusting the Lens on Chronic Disease

Why Language Can't Be Tamed

Is Social Media Changing English?

What Was the First Language?

So ... Let's Talk About So

Like-Minded

Why Do Southerners Talk Like That?

The Habitual Past

A Riot of Color

The Rise of They

Wabbit Twacks

Tee Time

Happy Birthday OED!

If Frozen, Why Not Squozen?

The Pronouning of Profanities

One Tongue to Rule Them All

The Art of the Spiel

Lend Me Your Ears: Julius Caesar

Getting to Yes

The Story of P

English Spelling Is a Beautiful Mess

Did the Founding Fathers Have a British Accent?

No-Uh!

The Inner Workings of Out

Words, For Her

What's the Deal with Eleven?

There Are Two N-Words

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