Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the word greed.

Language Commentator Geoffrey Nunberg shares his thoughts on the peculiar grammatical logic of telephone answering machine recordings.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg comments on a California ballot initiative that would create "English-only" classrooms.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg says the word "sensitive" was complicated long before it was political. These days, "sensitivities" can be a stand-in for a lot of different attitudes -- some more defensible than others. Our modern stress on sensitivities, he says, probably set back cultural understanding as much as it has advanced it.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the new words that came out of the last decade.

Language Commentator Geoffrey Nunberg discusses the centennial of Esperanto, a movement devoted to establishing a world language.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg on cultures that are missing words. The Oxford dictionary of quotations published its list of the top sayings of 2002. George W. Bush was quoted as saying to Tony Blair, "The problem with the French is that they have no word for entrepreneur." The British Prime minister denied that Bush said it, but the story is plausible because people are always saying similar things about other cultures.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg examines the blurbs on book jackets...those hyperbolic quotes that declare seemingly every new book to be "a blockbuster" or "runaway best-seller."

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg reviews a new book by James Crawford which examines the history of bilingual education. Despite the contemporary controversy surrounding the issue, Nunberg and Crawford point out that such curricula was once considered a valuable way of helping immigrant children learn English and assimilate into American culture -- a view once shared by conservatives in the 1970s.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg on the jingoistic language of the Gulf Crisis. That style of discourse is closely linked to pro-war sentiments during the period of British colonialism.

Linguist Geoff Nunberf adds his thoughts about the linguistic legacy left by popular TV sitcoms.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg considers whether the Internet is on the way to making English the official language of the world.

Increasingly catchy terminology is used to package government missions and policies. Consider "war on terror" and "no child left behind," for instance. Linguist Geoff Nunberg offers his thoughts on the subject.

Adding a foreign word to your vocabulary is like adding foreign attire to your wardrobe. Sometimes you do it because it's practical and sometimes just because you think it looks cool. Linguist Geoff Nunberg says Americans' use of "spot on" falls somewhere between affectation and flash.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg comments on the increased usage of the adjective "gallic." He says it's like a shorthand for "the French are at it again."

As Time magazine reinvents itself for the Internet age, the editors announced they'd be dropping some old features of the magazine's distinctive verbal style. There was once an age when Time's style helped remake journalism — and the English language itself.

In the final few hours before the Super Bowl, linguist Geoffrey Nunberg compares the literary language of football and baseball.

Language Commentator Geoffrey Nunberg discusses the sanitized language defense experts use to describe nuclear war and weapons.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the effect of Sept. 11 on our language.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg discusses political language and the word democrat, with a small "d."