Language A to Z

A brief introduction on why an alphabetic approach makes an engaging way to explore human language; Professor McWhorter looks at Aramaic, one of the ancient world's most influential languages; how it achieves such prominence; its decline.

How the common expression baby mama reflects the grammar behind what linguists refer to as African-American Vernacular English; how Ebonics emerge as an intriguing mash-up of assorted British regional dialects; a sprinkle of grammatical streamlining.

One can change a word's part of speech simply by moving the accent upfront (loudspeaker versus loud speaker); the world of compounds, one of the fundamental elements of speaking English; determining historical pronunciations of words.

Americans are taught that double negatives are a grammatical no-no; they are used in most of the world's languages; whether the substitute any (e.g., not going anywhere versus not going nowhere) solves the problem or makes it more awkward.

Etymology is the tool linguists use to decipher the backstories of words and phrases; exploring why "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" is really about sheep in Great Britain; why quaint originally meant crafty; why one drinks punches as well as throws them.

Mama and papa are some of the first words spoken in a majority of the world's languages; exploring this intriguing subject; some of the theories behind how language starts; everything from anatomy to music to mimicked animal calls.