Fresh Air's resident linguist explains how the magic of metonymy gave "occupy" its symbolism — and how the word implies a culture that made a bunch of protests feel like a movement.
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.
Linguist Geoff Nunberg has been puzzling over President Obama's performance in the presidential debate last week. Looking at who the candidates were addressing their answers to shows that Romney was doing something unusual, he says.
The pithy, 17-syllable poems fit neatly into Twitter's 140-character limit. "Twaiku" has taken off. Linguist Geoff Nunberg says the pervasive little poems have filled the cultural space that was once occupied by light verse.
The French government will officially simplify the spelling of several dozen words, claiming the change will make their national language more accessible and appealing to foreigners. Linguist Geoff Nunberg questions the efficacy of the initiative, and considers how countries define themselves through culture and legislation.
We're living in an age obsessed with authenticity, says linguist Geoff Nunberg, but we often choose to nitpick the wrong details. Whether it's Downton Abbey, Mad Men, Lincoln or Argo, Nunberg argues, a historical novel or screenplay should give us a translation, not a transcription.
It's been a busy couple of years for the law, from the controversy over gay marriage to nominations to the Supreme Court. From a linguist's point of view, dictionaries are crucial in the world of jurisprudence.
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.
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.
Uber's "God view" shows a map of the cars in an area and the silhouettes of the people who ordered them. Linguist Geoff Nunberg says Uber-Santa doesn't just know when you've been sleeping, but where.
