Linguist Geoff Nunberg says the compromises we refuse to make say the most about our character. "Sometimes we stand on principle for the heady satisfaction of showing that we can't be pushed around," he says.
The word lifestyle has moved around in our culture since it first appeared more than 35 years ago. Our linguist says the word has gone from being a way to differentiate the '60s counterculture to a marketing tool and now to a political catchphrase.
Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg comments on the diminished stature of epigraphy. This refers to the ancient art of putting writing on walls. This includes signs, posters, banners and graffiti.
Commentator Geoff Nunberg considers brand names. They make up a significant proportion of the average person's vocabulary. Nunberg says the English language is being privatized.
"Great Britain and the United States are two nations separated by a common language." That's the stock witticism, but if you ask me, it gets things backwards. Great Britain and the U.S. are more like two nations united by a divided language — or more precisely, by their mutual obsession with their linguistic differences. For 200 years now, writers from each nation have been tirelessly picking over the language of the other, with a mix of amusement, condescension, derision and horror.
Language commentator Geoffrey Nunberg has some thoughts on the different accents you'll find in California. Not all of them are as distinctive as those of a "Valley Girl." (originally broadcast 3/9/88).
When Barack Obama trotted out a well-worn, folksy phrase about cosmetics and swine, the political world developed a sudden rash. Linguist Geoff Nunberg asks what all the shouting was about.
Nobody knows what was in the president's cup when he saluted the Marines last month, but it became known as the "latte salute." Do people still use "red" and "blue" when discussing a cultural divide?
