Language

Linguist Geoff Nunberg takes issue with the use and misuse of loaded terms like holocaust, genocide, and terrorism in political discourse. He says that a person's reluctance to use such inflated terms doesn't mean they take an issue any less seriously.

Language Commentator GEOFFREY NUNBERG reviews a new video version of Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style," featuring CBS newsman CHARLES OSGOOD.

Despite some recent, low-level controversy around the Indiana nickname, linguist Geoff Nunberg says that "hoosier," like several other regional nicknames, has lost its offensive bite. The term connotes location more than a particular cultural identity.

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.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg considers how electronic communication like telephone conversations and radio broadcasts have changed the ways we introduce ourselves.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg says that dictionaries remove words and their meanings from any sort of context, which makes them inefficient tools for students seeking to expand their vocabularies. But dictionaries can reveal a lot about simple words, which are often the hardest to define.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg considers the commonalities between different proverbs from around the world.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg reflects on how changing modes of speech in motion pictures signify a character's personal transformation. The 1938 version of Pygmalion is a great example -- but the trope can be found in several other films.

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.

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg wonders why it's so hard for writers to craft realistic, natural-sounding dialogue when we are surrounded by speech in our daily lives. He says it may take a special kind of attentiveness to hear -- and remember -- how people really talk.