Lexicon Valley

A new dialect called Miami English is emerging in Florida due to the large Spanish-speaking population. The influence of English on Spanglish in Miami is explored, with examples of Spanglish words. The hosts analyze the lyrics of the song 'Wish You Were Here' and its linguistic context. The impact of different languages like Yiddish, Mandarin, and Russian on English is discussed. The historical influence of Old Norse on English is examined, including the use of Norseisms in everyday speech.

The trial transcript of a 225-year-old murder is filled with fascinating evidence of the way we used to talk. John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

Many English verbs have three forms — sing, sang and sung, for example. The problem is that speakers seem to want only two. John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

Too — whether about excess, addition or contradiction — evolved from to. John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

Some languages adopt their “health” word from the concept of wholeness — a metaphor that makes perfect sense. Other languages, however, adopt their “health” word from trees. John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

Like the French word droit, English’s right has taken on a number of useful metaphorical meanings. John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

In this favorite from the archives, John discusses some unwritten rules of English that can be remarkably difficult for a learner of English to master. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

The word “record” can be broken down into two parts, the re and the cord. But what do those parts even mean? John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

John is traveling this week and so we’re running a previous episode about the speech patterns of Bette Davis, George Gershwin, Louis Armstrong and countless other Americans of the 1930s. Why do they all sound like that? Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

So many of our words have ugly associations that are particular to a historical time or event. Should we expunge them entirely from our vocabulary? Can we? John weighs in. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley