324 GG When Bad Grammar Means Good Fiction

324 GG When Bad Grammar Means Good Fiction

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The ancient word for 'star' and the steppe nomads who spread it, with Laura Spinney

1233. This week, we talk to Laura Spinney, author of "Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global." We look at how linguists reconstruct a language no one wrote down and why the ancient word for "wheel" is still debated. Then we look at how ancient DNA pointed to nomadic herders ...  Show more

4 everyday words that started out as monsters. 'Graveyard' versus 'cemetery.' Which is which?

1232. This week, we look at four ordinary words — "hippocampus," "chimera," "behemoth," and "gargantuan" — that all started as the names of monsters. Then, we look at where sailors got the phrase "graveyard watch" and at the difference between a graveyard and a cemetery.The monst ...  Show more

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