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Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Latest episodes

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Apr 2, 2024 • 24min

You love to read. Could you narrate?

Learn all about audiobook narration from David H. Lawrence XVII and his new program 'Narrate Your Own Audiobook.' Discover the benefits of authors narrating their own audiobooks, navigating the ACX platform, overcoming podcasting challenges, embracing authenticity in narration, and upcoming free class for narrating your audiobook.
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Mar 26, 2024 • 18min

Memory, Aging, and the Lingering 'Anyways'

Valerie Fridland, a linguistics professor, discusses how aging affects language comprehension. Topics include processing complex sentences, vocabulary resilience, and the history behind saying 'anyways'.
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Mar 19, 2024 • 17min

A nuclear win at the Oscars. CamelCase. One clo.

Explore the mispronunciation of 'nuclear', George W. Bush's unique pronunciation, the evolution of CamelCase, and the significance of family words like 'kudos' and 'family act'
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Mar 12, 2024 • 14min

From grunts to grammar. The Irish 'after doing.' The winning NGD poem!

Explore the evolution of human language from ancient theories to modern complexities. Discover Irish-English calques and celebrate the winning NGD poem. Uncover language theories and sound symbolism, along with the impact of Irish on English and the origin of 'Brogue.' Dive into Leslie F. Miller's limerick about Hamlet and her background as a healthcare writer.
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Mar 5, 2024 • 22min

Where did our language start?

971. Linguists have traced modern languages like English and Sanskrit back thousands of years to a single Proto-Indo-European source. This week, we explore their detective work and the debates around the origins of the ancestral tongue.This piece was written by Kurt Kleiner, a freelance science and technology writer living in Toronto. It originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, a digital publication dedicated to making scientific knowledge accessible to all. Explore the latest at knowablemagazine.org.| Edited transcript with links: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/indo-european/transcript| 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 SemesDirector of Podcast: Brannan GoetschiusAdvertising Operations Specialist: Morgan ChristiansonMarketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina TomlinDigital Operations Specialist: Holly Hutchings| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon.
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Feb 27, 2024 • 14min

'Addictive' or 'addicting'? Types of nouns. Folley

Exploring the nuances between 'addictive' and 'addicting'. Types of nouns: concrete, abstract, compound, and collective nouns. Delving into the personal significance of 'folly' through a family story.
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Feb 20, 2024 • 20min

Tracing the origins of Miami's new English. Why it's not a 'gumballs' machine. Embassy Sweets.

Guest Joe Alwyn discusses language evolution through loan translations in Miami post the Cuban Revolution. Exploring compound nouns in English and the impact of charity on 'tortured man club' name. Touching on bilingual language fusion in the southwest and the importance of choosing Wayne State College for success.
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Feb 13, 2024 • 13min

Taylor Swift Doesn't Need Your Grammatical Approval. In Love. Foil Lump Surprise.

Taylor Swift's use of 'Poets' without an apostrophe, the distinction between plural and possessive forms in phrases, exploring the meaning and complexity of love in different languages, and the challenges posed by the semantic broadness of love in English.
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Feb 6, 2024 • 13min

'A' versus 'an.' 'Larruping' rides again. Euonyms. Flavoring.

The podcast discusses the use of 'a' or 'an' before the letter 'H' and explores pronunciation differences between American and British English. They also delve into indefinite and definite articles, share interesting language phenomena, and discuss stories from listeners.
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Jan 30, 2024 • 18min

From 'hwhat' to 'what': Tracing a letter's disappearing act. Barkhouse.

Explore the rise and fall of the letter H with linguistics professor Kate Burridge and psychology professor Catherine McBride. They discuss debates over its name, the disappearing act of the letter H, its historical context and resurgence in English, the importance of letter sounds in learning to read, the evolution of the word 'what' and the disappearance of the 'H' sound, and family dialects.

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