The Evolution of the Medial S in English

987. This week, we look at why people sometimes double their subjects, writing sentences such as "John, he bought a car," and when it's OK (and not OK) to do so. Plus, we talk about the medial S, a strange F-like letter that makes an S-sound and shows up in old documents. We look at how it came to be, its role in English typography, and what made it finally go away.

| Edited transcript with links: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/left-dislocation/transcript

| Please take our advertising survey. It helps! https://podsurvey.com/GRAMMAR

| Grammarpalooza (Get texts from Mignon!): https://joinsubtext.com/grammar or text "hello" to (917) 540-0876.

| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.

| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.

| Peeve Wars card game. 

| Grammar Girl books. 

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

• Audio Engineer: Nathan Semes
• Director of Podcast: Brannan Goetschius
• Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
• Marketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina Tomlin
• Digital Operations Specialist: Holly Hutchings

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon.