Lexicon Valley

On Jan. 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy delivered — to an audience seated both outside at the U.S. Capitol and at home in front of their televisions — his inaugural address. Millions were stirred that afternoon by the rousing line: And so, my fellow Americans — ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. Every part of that exhortation is a fascinating linguistic lesson. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 239: "JFK's Most Famous Sentence." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it mean to be woke? Has the word problematic become problematic? John McWhorter talks with Banished host Amna Khalid about the fraught vocabulary of modern censorship. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 238: "The Evolution of Woke." With Amna Khalid and John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than half the world’s approximately 7,000 languages will have no speakers left in the coming decades. Some are working feverishly to preserve or maintain them. Others are asking: Why bother? Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 237: "Reviving Dead Languages." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know that the past participle of the intransitive verb lie is lain and that its past tense is lay, not to be confused with the present tense of the transitive verb lay? Oh, and did you know that no one really cares if you use them all correctly? Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 236: "Let Sleeping Dogs Lay." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You might guess that Nigeria and Niger derive their names from the Latin word for “black,” especially since both countries were formerly colonized by Europeans. Guess again. John explains. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Bonus: "How Did Nigeria Get Its Name?" With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved. Bonus segments are normally for paying subscribers only, but we’re making this week’s free for all! To support our work, please consider becoming paying subscriber. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Bonus: "How Did Nigeria Get Its Name?" With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee has said that her parents picked “Ketanji” from a list of West African names supplied by a relative. But West Africans speak hundreds of languages spread out across many hundreds of miles. Can we get more specific? Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 235: "Where Is the Name Ketanji From?" With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As John likes to say, Proto-Indo-European — the original ancestor of many European and Asian languages — began on the steppes of Ukraine. This is his linguistic love letter to a region and a people under siege. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 234: "A Linguistic Love Letter to Ukraine." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A playful look at why English says "it" is raining and what that pronoun might point to. Cross‑linguistic examples show very different ways to talk about precipitation. Connections between weather words and time, music, and history trace surprising origins. Short linguistic sleuthing into evidentiality, aspect, and old word shifts rounds out the conversation.

You may have noticed, among widespread coverage of looming Russian aggression, an unfamiliar pronunciation of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. What does that have to do with Joe Rogan’s use of the N-word? Listen to find out. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 232: "Joe Rogan and the N-Word, by Way of Kyiv." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A hot mic caught President Biden using the epithet to describe a Fox News reporter. Where did “son of a bitch” come from, and why are modern speakers increasingly choosing other insults? Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lexicon Valley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. A Booksmart Studios production. Episode 231: "Son of a B*tch on a Hot Mic." With John McWhorter. Produced and edited by Mike Vuolo. All rights reserved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices