English Language

Language commentator Geoffrey Nunberg looks back on the long nights he spent in a private club in Rome where the only requirement for membership was that you be a native-English speaker. He reflects on how the language brought together people who otherwise had nothing in common.

Language commentator Geoffrey Nunberg comments on recent activity at the federal level regarding bi-lingual education policies, and a proposed constitutional amendment to make English the nation's official language.

Poet W.S.Merwin. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1970 work, The Carriers of Ladders. His books of poetry include The Song of Roland, The Compass Flower and, his latest collection, The Rain in the Trees.

Language Commentator Geoffrey Nunberg examines the idioms of Berkeley, California, one of the most liberal and tolerant communities in America.

Language Commentator Geoffrey Nunberg explores the language and sounds of talking computers and how they handle the subtlety of vocal inflection. (Segment)

Language Commentator Geoffrey Nunberg explores American Sign Language and its cultural significance within the deaf community.

Language Commentator Geoffrey Nunberg discusses the way the language of the drug culture has worked through the language of the mainstream.

Language Commentator Geoffrey Nunberg discusses the logic behind the dictionary and thesaurus.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the uniquely American tradition of spelling bees. The oracular practice may date back to a time when literacy was considered a form of magic. But, Nunberg says, it has nothing to do with education.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg wonders about the demand for authentic regional and national accents in motion pictures -- even when its not essential to the plot.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg looks back at the tradition of American political oratory. Debates and speeches drew crowds by the thousands in the 19th century., but television has reduced much of that discourse to soundbites. The rare moments in which we can hear a speech in full remind us of how much fun politics must have been in the past, says Nunberg.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg recently visited the Language in Art Since 1960 exhibit at New York's Whitney Museum. He says the work he saw revealed how words in art can create dynamic social commentary in a way distinct from text on a page.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg wonders why it's so hard for writers to craft realistic, natural-sounding dialogue when we are surrounded by speech in our daily lives. He says it may take a special kind of attentiveness to hear -- and remember -- how people really talk.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg talks about the game "settings," wherein players pair poems with complimentary pieces of music. The goal is to find works whose rhythm and meter sync up.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg reflects on how changing modes of speech in motion pictures signify a character's personal transformation. The 1938 version of Pygmalion is a great example -- but the trope can be found in several other films.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg considers the commonalities between different proverbs from around the world.

Newman worked in newspapers, radio and television. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the importance of language in journalism, the voice he adopted to report on tragedies and assassinations, and how he filled airtime when the copy ran out. A new collection of his columns is called I Must Say.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg says that dictionaries remove words and their meanings from any sort of context, which makes them inefficient tools for students seeking to expand their vocabularies. But dictionaries can reveal a lot about simple words, which are often the hardest to define.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg considers how electronic communication like telephone conversations and radio broadcasts have changed the ways we introduce ourselves.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers how the ways communities describe themselves is changing. The emergence of the term "African American" is of particular interest; Nunberg thinks it suggests a shift away from appearance toward place of origin.