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"36 lectures / 30 minutes per lecture"--Container.

disc 1. Winning words, banished words -- The life of a word, from birth ot death -- The human hands behind dictionaries -- Treasure houses, theft, and traps -- Yarn and clues-- new word meanings -- Smog, mob, bling-- new words -- disc 2. "Often" versus "offen"-- pronunciation -- Fighting over zippers -- Opening the early English word-hoard -- Safe and sound-- the French invasion -- Magnifical dexterity-- Latin and learning -- Chutzpah to pajamas-- world borrowings -- disc 3. The pop/soda/coke divide -- Maths, wombats and Les bluejeans -- Foot and pedestrian-- word cousins -- Desultory somersaults--Latin roots -- Analogous prologues-- Greek roots -- The tough stuff of English spelling -- disc 4. The b in debt-- meddling in spelling -- Of mice, men and y'all -- I'm good-- or am I well? -- How snuck sneaked in -- Um, well, like, you know -- Wicked cool-- the irreverence of slang -- disc 5. Boy toys and bad eggs-- slang wordplay -- Spinster, bachelor, guy, dude -- Firefighters and freshpersons -- A slam dunk-- the language of sports -- Fooling around-- the language of love -- Gung ho-- the language of war -- disc 6. Fillibustering-- the language of politics -- LOL-- the language of the internet -- #$@%!-- forbidden words -- Couldn't (or could) care less -- Musquirt and other lexical gaps -- Playing fast and loose with words.

Disc 1. Winning words, banished words ; The life of a word, from birth to death ; The human hands behind dictionaries ; Treasure houses, theft, and traps ; Yarn and clues--New word meanings ; Smog, mob, bling--new words -- Disc 2. "Often" versus "Offen"--pronunciation ; Fighting over zippers ; Opening the early English word-hoard ; Safe and sound--the French invasion ; Magnifical dexterity--Latin and learning ; Chutzpah to pajamas--world borrowings -- Disc 3. The pop/soda/coke divide ; Maths, wombats, and les bluejeans ; Foot and pedestrian--word cousins ; Desultory somersaults--Latin roots ; Analogous prologues--Greek roots ; The tough stuff of English spelling -- Disc 4. The b in Debt--Meddling in spelling ; Of mice, men, and y'all ; I'm good ... or am I well? ; How snuck sneaked in ; Um, well, like, you know ; Wicked cool--the irreverence of slang -- Disc 5. Boy toys and bad eggs--slangy wordplay ; Spinster, bachelor, guy, dude ; Firefighters and freshpersons ; A slam dunk--the language of sports ; Fooling around--the language of love ; Gung ho--the language of war -- Disc 6. Filibustering--the language of politics ; LOL--the language of the Internet ; #$@%!--forbidden words ; Couldn't (or could) care less ; Musquirt and other lexical gaps ; Playing fast and loose with words.

Anne Curzan, professor, University of Michigan

Presents a survey of English, from its Germanic origins to the rise of globalization and cyber-communications.

Junior High School

Text in English