The 1996 Reforms to German Spelling

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In American English our love letters did. No not at all. Texting can be very articulate. You can read about the texting of people who do not have the benefit of any particular education almost every time they put their thumb to that pad they're creating some kind of poetry. So no the love letter is not dead. It's just that the kids are doing it in a different way and I don't really mind. Let's say I interview a job candidate using Skype or Zoom rather than face to face. Do I need to be in the room with the person watching what they do with their legs? Getting a vague sense of whatever their redulence happens to be.I think that's

Who can you ask about the Great American Songbook, the finer Jell-O flavors, and peculiar languages like Saramaccan all while expecting the same kind of fast, thoughtful, and energetic response? Listeners of Lexicon Valley might hazard a guess: John McWhorter. A prominent academic linguist, he’s also highly regarded for his podcast and popular writings across countless books and articles where often displays a deep knowledge in topics beyond his academic training.

John joined Tyler to discuss why he thinks that colloquial Indonesian should be the world's universal language, the barbaric circumstances that gave rise to Creole languages, the reason Mandarin won't overtake English as the lingua franca, how the Vikings shaped modern English, the racial politics of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, the decline of American regional accents, why Shakespeare needs an English translation, Harold Arlen vs. Andrew Lloyd Webber, whether reparations for African-Americans is a good idea, how living in Jackson Heights shapes his worldview, what he learned from his mother and father, why good linguistics students enjoy both Russian and Chinese, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.

Recorded February 17th, 2020 Other ways to connect

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