Word of Mouth

Ben and David Crystal discuss the influence of Shakespearean phrases in everyday conversation. They explore lesser-known lines, their meanings, original pronunciation, and social representations in Shakespeare's works.

Susie Orbach, therapist and author, discusses the use and misuse of "therapy speak" in everyday conversations. She questions whether these words actually mean what we think they do and whether they truly help or exacerbate the issues we're trying to address. The podcast explores the power of words and conversation, the importance of listening to tone and timbre in therapy, the emotional impact of the unfolding writing trick, and the relationship between words and authenticity in therapy.

There's lots of 'birging' in this week's programme. For those not in the know - that's short for Basking In Reflected Glory and it's something football fans in particular do when they talk about their team's triumphs using the 'extended we'. Michael Bond author of 'Fans' talks to Michael about the words and language different fan groups have as a shared means of communication. Whether it's being a superfan of sport, film or music there are words and phrases that show you belong to a particular fandom. Producer: Maggie Ayre

Michael Rosen talks to journalist Sheela Banerjee about the family and cultural histories revealed by our names. In her book What’s in a Name? Friendship, Identity and History in Modern Multicultural Britain, she takes a deep dive into her own personal and family names and those of her friends. Names turn out to be excellent prisms through which to view history and the stories she uncovers are surprising and poignant. Producer Beth O'Dea, BBC Audio Bristol

Lonny Evans audio describes in theatres and museums, and Terry James, who is vision impaired, trains audio describers. They talk to Michael about their work.Producer Sally Heaven

Irina Morgan is a high level interpreter. Being bi-lingual in Russian and Ukrainian means she's in demand whenever Vladimir Putin or President Zelensky give a press conference requiring simultaneous interpretation. Irina talks to Michael about the language do's and don'ts of live translation, and about how she puts herself into the mindset of someone like President Putin in order to give an accurate representation of his distinct man-of-the-people hard man linguistic style. By contrast Volodymyr Zelensky is a linguistic free-styler - like following jazz, Irina says. A fascinating look at the life of a language specialist.Producer: Maggie Ayre

Michael Rosen is learning Yiddish. Every Sunday, he joins other adults in an evening class, conjugating verbs and practising rhymes.For this episode of Word of Mouth, he invites his teacher, Tamara Micner, to join him in the studio. The pair have fun swapping family stories and sharing how they were first exposed to Yiddish. Tamara explains where the language came from and how it's evolved, and they discuss its connections to English. We also hear what Michael is like in class as a new learner, as he wraps his head around the pronunciation and patterns of this language which links him to his family history.Producer: Eliza Lomas, BBC Audio in Bristol.

Michael is joined by Emily M Bender, Professor of computational linguistics at the University of Washington and co-author of the infamous paper ‘On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots’. Cutting through the recent hype, she explains how chatbots do what they do, how they have become so fluent and why she thinks we should be careful with the terminology we employ when talking about them.Presented by Michael Rosen and produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Ellie Richold.

In a captivating conversation, Jason Stanley, the Jacob Urowsky Professor at Yale University and author on propaganda, discusses the insidious nature of fascist language. He delves into how propaganda and slogans shape societal beliefs about purity and identity. The dialogue explores dehumanizing rhetoric, drawing parallels between historical atrocities and modern political discourse. Stanley also highlights the alarming rise of fascist rhetoric today, revealing how language manipulates public perception and can incite violence.

Dr Jenni Nuttall talks to Michael about the words used by and about women since the beginnings of language. Including some words we should never have lost.