A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over
A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over
Hosted by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett. Produced by Stefanie Levine.
Hair On Your Tongue (Rebroadcast) - 7 September 2020
54 minutes Posted Sep 6, 2020 at 11:59 pm.
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54:27
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Show notes

If you speak both German and Spanish, you may find yourself reaching for a German word instead of a Spanish one, and vice versa. This puzzling experience is so common among polyglots that linguists have a name for it. • The best writers create luscious, long sentences using the same principles that make for a musician’s melodious phrasing or a tightrope walker’s measured steps. • Want to say something is wild and crazy in Norwegian? You can use a slang phrase that translates as “That’s totally Texas!” • Plus happenstance, underwear euphemisms, pooh-poohscrappyfretgedunktartar sauceantejentacular, the many ways to pronounce the word experiment, a fun word quiz, and lots more.

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