What effect has the internet, social media and AI had on language? Should you judge a book by its cover? This week, linguistic legend and British OBE recipient David Crystal joins us to discuss all things words, idioms, dialects and the curious facts he found while researching his latest publication, Bookish Words.

00:00 Welcome
10:07 Writing tip: ‘Write your Why’
12:47 WIN!: Audition by Katie Kitamura
14:09 Word of the week: ‘Testudo’
16:37 World of Words: ‘One Fell Swoop’
18:06 Writer in residence: David Crystal
19:19 David’s love of words
21:30 The wonders of different dialects
22:30 Language and change
27:16 Discussing his latest title, Bookish Words
33:00 Judging a book by its cover
36:05 British and American English differences
37:59 The Influence of Sports on Language
40:18 David and Dean discuss puns
42:11 Nat’s question corner: balancing form and meaning
46:33 The role of technology and social media
49:30 Language in a world of AI
51:34 The impact of COVID-19 on language
53:14 Tips on making your writing engaging
55:27 David reading preferences
01:05:00 Final thoughts

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