Arika Okrent

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14.07.2023 · 18:55:04 ··· 5 ··· ··· 18 ···
16.05.2024 · 21:13:02 ···
01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ···
14.07.2023 · 18:55:04 ··· 5 ··· ··· 18 ···

1:: Shoulda Woulda Coulda. Where does that L come from?

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 26.06.2021 · 18:11:41 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Many other stories about the weirdness of English are in our new book, Highly Irregular. Get it from Bookshop https://bookshop.org/books/highly-irregular-why-tough-through-and-dough-don-t-rhymeand-other-oddities-of-the-english-language/9780197539408, Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Highly-Irregular-RhymeAnd-Oddities-Language/dp/0197539408, or OUP https://global.oup.com/academic/product/highly-irregular-9780197539408?cc=us&lang=en&

2:: Highly Irregular: Why Tough, Through, and Dough Don't Rhyme and Other Oddities...

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 18.04.2021 · 03:45:45 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Highly Irregular is a new book by Arika Okrent, illustrated by Sean O'Neill. Available for pre-order now at: Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/books/highly-irregular-why-tough-through-and-dough-don-t-rhymeand-other-oddities-of-the-english-language/9780197539408 Oxford University Press: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/highly-irregular-9780197539408?cc=us&lang=en& Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Highly-Irregular-RhymeAnd-Oddities-Language/dp/0197539408

3:: Things Labeled 'American' in Other Countries

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 04.10.2018 · 02:24:02 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· America is certainly iconic, and a worldwide brand of sorts, but it doesn’t carry the same connotations everywhere. Here are some things described with “American” in other countries. Produced for Mental Floss

4:: Number Words and the Human Body

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 28.08.2018 · 15:24:02 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· There are many possible ways to organize a number system for counting. Our number words reflect a base-10 or “decimal” system but there’s no reason we couldn’t just as well have ended up with a different kind of system. Or is there? Produced for Mental Floss

5:: Secrets Given Away By Silent Letters

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 17.05.2018 · 16:02:20 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Silent letters can make English frustrating, but they can also give away connections between related words that you might not realize share a history. Produced for Mental Floss

6:: What is a Word

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 12.05.2018 · 16:47:12 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Why even ask this question? A word is a word, what could be simpler? But it's not as simple as it seems. And it's something linguists don't have a fully satisfying answer for. Produced for Mental Floss

7:: Why Isn't There A Word For That?

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 02.04.2018 · 17:44:33 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· There are a lot of things it seems we should have a word for, but don't. Why do we have these lexical gaps? Produced for Mental Floss

8:: Common Words That Mean Something More Specific To Experts

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 30.03.2018 · 15:42:17 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· "Hearsay," "passive," "significant," "toxin," "work," "evolution," these are words that we're familiar with through their common meanings, but to experts, they have slightly different, more specific meanings.

9:: The Story of 'Cool'

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 01.03.2018 · 17:19:35 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· It’s hep, it’s groovy, it’s outta sight. It’s the word “cool.” Unlike those other words, it doesn’t sound dated at all. Slang hardly ever manages that trick. How did “cool” stay cool? Produced for Mental Floss

10:: Why Is It 'My Lord' But 'Your Highness'?

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 12.02.2018 · 18:23:17 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· English has many ways of enshrining social relationships and relative status in its forms of address. Some of the older, most formal forms like My Lord and Your Highness use pronouns that express the concept of possession, but why is it that sometimes the person with the higher status gets a MY and sometimes a YOUR? How can opposite concepts both be used for the same kind of status relationship? Produced for Mental Floss.

11:: What Causes a Foreign Accent?

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 09.01.2018 · 16:19:04 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· The human vocal tract can produce thousands of different sounds but languages use only a tiny subset of them. What happens when you try to speak a language that uses a different subset from your own? Produced for Mental Floss

12:: Fancy Words for Mundane Health Problems

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 06.01.2018 · 19:31:16 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Want to generate a little more sympathy for your totally mundane health problems? Use these fancy medical terms instead. Produced for Mental Floss

13:: Interesting Holiday Word Origins

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 19.12.2017 · 15:16:58 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Where do these holiday words come from? Produced for Mental Floss

14:: Tricky Grammar in Christmas Songs

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 14.12.2017 · 18:19:25 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· While you’re caroling this season, here’s a few grammar points to watch out for. Produced for Mental Floss

15:: The Story of Figurative "Literally"

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 16.10.2017 · 19:27:42 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Does the popular use of "literally" literally make you sick? Or does it just annoy you, in which case it only figuratively makes you sick. Here's the story of how it came to be. Produced for Mental Floss

16:: Hidden Metaphors in Anatomical Terms

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 10.10.2017 · 20:19:59 ··· ···
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17:: Spot the Words Hidden in These Words

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 01.09.2017 · 16:37:58 ··· ···
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18:: The Story of the Umlaut

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 12.02.2016 · 00:00:00 ··· ···
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