Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share The Common Errors in English Usage Podcast
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
The Common Errors in English Usage Podcast
By Paul BriansEducation
The Common Errors in English Usage Podcast episodes
- Episode 39: Words Often Confused
Is Paul reticent about attempting to ride his unicycle in public, or is he hesitant to do that? You’ll find the answer right away when you hit the Play button this week, but keep listening to hear about other commonly confused terms. We’ll be covering more such expressions in future podcasts.
https://wmjasco.com/podcasts/39-WordsOftenConfused.mp3Subscribe on iTunes
Download mp3On StitcherLinks:
Commonly confused expressionsTarzan wears a Common Errors in English Usage t-shirt0 min - Episode 38: The Period Is Disappearing—Does That Bug You?
This week we discuss the decline of the period as a punctuation mark and delve into the interesting history of the word bug.
https://wmjasco.com/podcasts/38-bug.mp3Subscribe on iTunes
Download mp3On StitcherLinks:
On the disappearing period (from The New York Times)More on the changing uses for the periodEdison and the term bugGrace Hopper and the term debugBucky BugMore Bucky BugBugsy MaloneThe AlbagensesThe Texas town of Bug TussleA list of BUG acronyms0 min - Episode 37: Shall We Bring Back Some Words?
Last week we talked about words some of us would like to do without. This week we discuss words some of us would like to see more often.
https://wmjasco.com/podcasts/37-wordsToBringBack.mp3Subscribe on iTunes
Download mp3On StitcherLinks:
“Some words deserve a comeback. Others need to die.”The complete list of words that deserve wider use at Wayne State University0 min - Episode 36: Shall We Banish Some Words?
This week we talk about words some of us would like to do without. Our verdict: If you don’t like them, don’t use them.
https://wmjasco.com/podcasts/36-WordsToBanish.mp3Subscribe on iTunes
Download mp3On StitcherLinks:
“Some words deserve a comeback. Others need to die.”The complete list of words to banish at Lake Superior State UniversityPhilip Corbett’s New York Times feature “After Deadline”0 min - Episode 35: Political Language and Literature (Part 2)
This week we continue our conversation at the crossroads of politics and literary criticism. It turns out there is some vocabulary worth knowing in this area, including cosmopolitanism, interrogation, formalism, and several others. This all relates to the Common Errors in English Usage Web site, too, in interesting ways.
https://wmjasco.com/podcasts/35-PoliticalLanguageAndLiterature-2.mp3Subscribe on iTunes
Download mp3Links:
Paul Brians’ notes on Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses (PDF)Paul Brians’ book on South Asian Literature in EnglishPaul Brians’ Retirement Speech (“Teaching, Politics, and Me”)0 min - Episode 34: Political Language and Literature (Part 1)
This week we continue talking about the language of politics—this time focusing on how it is used to discuss literature.
https://wmjasco.com/podcasts/34-PoliticalLanguageAndLiterature-1.mp3Subscribe on iTunes
Download mp3Links:
Paul Brians’ Retirement Speech (“Teaching, Politics, and Me”)Misconceptions, Confusions, and Conflicts Concerning Socialism, Communism, and CapitalismIntroduction to 19th-Century SocialismStudy Guide for The Communist ManifestoPaul Brians’ Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in FictionText of Germinal, by Emile ZolaText of Under Western Eyes, by Joseph Conrad0 min - Episode 33: The Language of the Election Season
This week we talk with Paul Brians about the language of elections, including politicians’ propensity to use “we” when they really mean “I.” Paul also explains how Bernie Sanders, a socialist, has taken advantage of the way conservatives in the U.S. have used language for the past several years. Other topics include a couple of misused terms from Common Errors in English Usage and the way the media cover political campaigns.
https://wmjasco.com/podcasts/33-ElectionTerms.mp3Subscribe on iTunes
Download mp3Links:
UPDATE: Someone has asked Trump about Puerto Rico after all“I Like Ike” TV ad from 1952Paul Brians’ page on socialism, communism, and capitalismPaul Brians’ introduction to 19th-century socialism0 min - Episode 32: Chris Waigl of The Eggcorn Database
This week on the show Chris Waigl joins us to discuss more about eggcorns (see also episode 30) and her work putting together The Eggcorn Database, a great resource for finding examples of this type of error. Chris also tells us about her background in science and language, and we talk generally about attitudes toward making mistakes in language.
https://wmjasco.com/podcasts/32-eggcorns2.mp3Subscribe on iTunes
Download mp3Links:
The Eggcorn DatabaseOur previous discussion of eggcorns, with Geoffrey PullumThe grammar comic strips0 min - Episode 31: The Everything of “Theory”
This week we discuss the meaning of the word “theory,” which was recently reported on by Carl Zimmer in The New York Times.
https://wmjasco.com/podcasts/31-theory.mp3Subscribe on iTunes
Download mp3Links:
In Science, It’s Never ‘Just a Theory’A Week of MisconceptionsPaul Brians’ entry on the word theory0 min - Episode 30: Eggcorns! (with special guest Geoffrey Pullum)
This week we discuss a kind of error known as an eggcorn. The term was coined by Geoffrey Pullum, who explains. After that, Paul Brians runs down some examples from Common Errors in English Usage.
https://wmjasco.com/podcasts/30-eggcorns.mp3Subscribe on iTunes
Download mp3Links:
The Eggcorn DatabaseEgg corns: folk etymology, malapropism, mondegreen, ???Far from the Madding Gerund (and other dispatches from Language Log)Browse other books by Geoffrey PullumSome examples from Common Errors in English Usage“So wrong, it’s right,” by Jan Freeman“Bu?? naked,” Language Log post by Mark Liberman0 min