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A "Triumph" of Language is Pure Americana

Language commentator Geoffrey Nunberg comments on his young daughter's use of the exclamation "YESSSS!"

03:37
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Other segments from the episode on November 28, 1994

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, November 28, 1994: Interview with Michael Eric Dyson; Interview with James Traub; Commentary on the word "yes."
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16:37

Preserving the Spirit of City College as It Embraces Change

Journalist James Traub has written "City on a Hill: Testing the American Dream at City College." This is an exploration of the "open admissions policy" that was implemented at the College in 1970, and the effects this policy has had on the school. Traub examined remedial classes and struggling students, and talked to administrators and professors including Leonard Jeffries, the controversial Chair of the Black Studies Department.

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Ironic, Informal And Expressive, 'New Rules Of Language' Evolve Online

With all our texting, tweeting and social media posting, billions of people are using typed words for the kind everyday communication that used to happen more often in conversation. A new book argues that we’ve created a unique new language to reproduce the shades of meaning that we used to convey verbally. Our linguist Geoff Nunberg reflects on the new rules of language that he calls chat-speak.

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Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

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This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

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