From the telegraph to the typewriter to the text message, every new technology inspires rhapsodies about the effect it'll have on language — especially the language of the young. Geoff Nunberg points out that language — and the young — somehow manage to survive.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg reviews "Cultural Misunderstandings: The French-American Experience" by Raymonde Carroll. It's a look at the different ways different cultures behave and think.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg comments on William Safire's recent choice of words for describing Hillary Clinton: "congenital liar."

Linguist Geoff Nunberg examines the term "911."

Linguist Geoff Nunberg does some of his own checking on liberal bias in the media.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg remarks on the Senate's awkwardness in discussing sexual contact in the Clinton impeachment trial.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg comments on the history and grammatical use of split infinitives.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg examines what has happened to underworld slang. He says it no longer thrives the way it did in centuries gone by.

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.

In his new book, Ascent of the A-Word, linguist Geoffrey Nunberg looks at how the term took root among griping World War II GIs — and how its meaning evolved in the '60s and '70s. He tells Fresh Air that crude words are "wonderfully revealing."

Linguist Geoff Nunberg comments on the how dictionaries have chosen to define words considered to be offensive or derogatory to groups of people.

As President Bush and Sen. John Kerry look to their second face-to-face meeting Friday night, linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the language of the 2004 debates.

Language Commentator Geoffrey Nunberg examines the diversity of accents in sunny California.

Our contributing linguist has some thoughts on the use of sarcasm in American English.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg on the trend among corporate giants to change their names to create a new identity.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg on solutions.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg considers the difference between the words "force" and "violence."

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg believes the book, on its surface, is the ideal medium for presenting text. But it has its limitations: books take up space, wear out, and impose linearity on the information they contain. While technological advancements may render some books obsolete, Nunberg says that nothing can match the pleasure of reading ink on paper.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers how the ways communities describe themselves is changing. The emergence of the term "African American" is of particular interest; Nunberg thinks it suggests a shift away from appearance toward place of origin.

Whether it's logs of phone calls or GPS data, commentator Geoff Nunberg says it still says a lot about who you are: "Tell me where you've been and who you've been talking to, and I'll tell you about your politics, your health, your sexual orientation, your finances," he says.