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Geoffrey Nunberg

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03:47

Corporate Speak as Linguistic Shell Game

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg argues that the increasingly insular and unintelligible vocabulary of businesses stems from a growing adherence to corporate culture.

Commentary
03:52

Legislating Language

Linguist Geoff Nunberg reflects on recent efforts to make English the official language at the state and federal levels. He says that such measures only hurt immigrants seeking essential services.

Commentary
03:48

What Does a Linguist Do?

Linguist Geoff Nunberg explains what people in his field actually study. It all boils down to the rules of language.

Commentary
03:24

Making Sense of the Headlines

Linguist Geoff Nunberg says that, regardless of the language they're written in, newspaper headlines demand a mastery of colloquialisms and pre-existing knowledge of current events--making them difficult for non-native speakers to comprehend.

Commentary
03:55

How Nouns as Verbs Impact Language

Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the history and criticism of nouns becoming verbs. He takes issue not with the trend itself, but the often bombastic and bureaucratic reasons why people alter language.

Commentary
03:28

Learning Italian at the Movies

Language commentator recalls how he learned Italian by watching dubbed American movies while studying abroad, and considers why Italian filmgoers prefer dubbing over subtitles.

Commentary
03:36

France's Catalog of the World

While vacationing in France, linguist Geoff Nunberg visited a museum exhibit showcasing an early edition of the Grand Larousse dictionary. He considers the cultural significance of this text, and what it says about how the French view language.

Commentary
03:54

France's "Racy" Electronic Mail.

Language Commentator Geoffrey Nunberg will discuss the effects of Minitel, the computer distributed by the telephone system in France that has brought a word processor to every home with a phone.

Commentary

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