The Word Nerds Podcast
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The Word Nerds is a weekly podcast on words, language, and why we say the things we do. Three language teachers share their ideas about the roots of everyday English. Each edition explores a rude word of the week. In addition to looking at language change, the podcast features music by independent artists each week.
About Podcasting:
For those of you new to podcasting, Click Here to read our "Introduction to Podcasting" Article.
 Write a Review of The Word Nerds Podcast
 
girijad83, February 17, 2006
Reviewer: girijad83
from India
The Word Nerds Podcast by Dave Shepherd is a weekly program that discusses language- its nuances, history, vocabulary, etc. and also features new and upcoming musicians. The podcast claims to be a 'program about words, language and why we say the things we do'.
For example, the August 27 podcast features songs by two independent bands called Euphonic and One Drop Rule. The chosen word of the week is 'fads' and the topic discussed in depth is 'slang'. The latter topic is discussed in detail first, giving the listener interesting information about the origin and cultural importance of slang. The format of this particular podcast is a friendly tete-a-tete between Dave Shepherd and his brother Howard, a high school teacher.
Each edition is as much a treat as this one. The September 1 podcast also does its bit for a social cause by invoking people to help those affected by hurricane Katrina.
The audio quality and the narrator's diction are good. The only hitch is the length of each program- approximately 20 minutes. However, given its weekly status and informative content, I would count this as a minor detraction. I recommend The Word Nerds to students and language lovers alike.
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Podcast Website:
http://thewordnerds.org/
Status update: goodbye for now (120)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Wed, Sep 02, 2009
This is Dave Shepherd with an update on the status of the Word Nerds podcast.
Most of you have noticed that we Word Nerds have been absent from the airwaves (or the Internet-waves) since April of this year. We’re sorry about our extended absence. Over the past four years we have built a sizeable community around [...]
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Workplace Communications (119)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Apr 12, 2009
Workplace communications: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd are off the job while recording this show, but they will be talking about workplace communications.
The fourth anniversary of The Word Nerds was on March 21. (2:08)
The tone of workplace communications; workplace jargon; methods of communicating on the job (3:06)
Music bumper from “The Corner of Sacco and Vanzetti” [...]
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Nostalgia (118)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Mar 29, 2009
Nostalgia: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd are on location in one of the important places of their young adulthood, where they talk about nostalgia.
Thanks to Maureen B. for a PayPal donation. Dave makes a couple of corrections. Thanks to Jack Sprat Café on E. Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for providing space for [...]
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Writing (117)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Mar 14, 2009
Writing: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd glance down at their written notes–albeit not handwritten–as they talk about writing.
Thanks to Kay Horst S., Jeff O., Kate S., Margaret C., and an anonymous friend for donations through the PayPal button. Thanks as well to Alan H., who sent us the link to the BBC news article that [...]
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Translation (116)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Feb 28, 2009
Translation: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd bring a certain je ne sais quoi to their discussion of translation.
Thanks to renaissance247 for the email suggestion of this show topic. (2:33)
Practical problems in translation; “good” and “bad” translation; the importance of accuracy (3:36)
Music bumper from “Foreign Affair” by Brad Wheeler (9:37)
Translating well-known texts: Martin Luther, Rainer Maria [...]
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Facebook and Social Networking (115)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Feb 14, 2009
Facebook and Social Networking: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd announced their status to their Facebook friends as they recorded this discussion of Facebook and other social networks.
Our experience with Facebook, and the Facebook experience in general (2:10)
Music bumper from “Social” by Charming (17:39)
The effect of Facebook on language: how we talk to each other and [...]
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Words and Phrases That Tick Us Off! (114)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Jan 25, 2009
Words and Phrases That Tick Us Off! Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd are grouchy at the end of a tough work week. They explore words and phrases that tick them off.
Thanks to Warren G., John P., Andreas B., Elin P. David W., Mary T., and Nancy E.-W. for donations through the PayPal button. Thanks also [...]
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Abbrevs. & txt (113)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Jan 11, 2009
Abbrevs. & txt: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd try not to LOL as they talk about text messaging and abbreviations.
Howard Chang is back! The rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated. (2:24)
Abbreviations throughout history: nearly as old as the Roman alphabet (at least) (3:41)
Music bumper from “The Message” by Norman Hedman’s Tropique. (16:08)
Discovering “online” language [...]
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Currency (112)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Dec 27, 2008
Currency: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd cash in on the latest news and trends as they talk about currency–in money and in speech.
Investing something (language or money) with value; potency and context (2:10)
Profanity and language in different cultural contexts; a citation from John Ciardi, the Charles Hodgson of the 1980s (8:30)
Music bumper from “Topsy” by [...]
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Morphing, Changing, and Dying Words (111)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Dec 14, 2008
Morphing, Changing, and Dying Words: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd look at words that shift and change over time–or sometimes die out altogether.
Thanks to Carlos in Spain, who recently helped us discovered a technical problem with our site and podcast. The Word Nerds now have a page on Facebook. (Dave briefly confuses Facebook with MySpace.) [...]
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Say Again? (110)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Nov 29, 2008
Say Again? Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd discuss remakes, do-overs, and other kinds of re-visitation.
Thanks to Patrick M., Alan H., Leandro B., Stuart W., Dmitriy P., and Peter L. for PayPal donations. Thanks also to Tom D., Tomas A., Anne J., Steve H., and Peter H. for emails. (2:11)
The need to revisit “old” topics [...]
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Irony and Satire (109)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Nov 16, 2008
Irony and Satire: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd try to avoid speaking sarcastically to each other as they explore irony and satire.
This week’s topic was suggested by Abbie G., a smart 9th-grader. Ironically, this show ended up being rated “R” and given an explicit tag. (Sorry, Abbie!) (2:08)
Dave and Barbara just attended the show [...]
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Stories and Storytelling (108)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Oct 25, 2008
Stories and Storytelling: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd are in Jonesborough, Tennessee, at the National Storytelling Festival, where they discuss stories and storytelling.
Thanks to Martin P. for a PayPal donation (1:58)
We are in Jonesborough, Tennessee, the oldest town in Tennessee, home of the International Storytelling Center and host to the National Storytelling Festival. (2:19)
Why [...]
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Debate (107)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Mon, Oct 13, 2008
Debate: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd argue back and forth and try to come to agreement about the meaning of debate.
Thanks to Alex Enkerli for an audio comment on MyChingo. (2:03)
This edition was inspired by an email from Paul Lawler (3:45)
Definitions of debate; what exactly constitutes a debate? (5:26)
Music bumper from “Arabesque” by Mauricio [...]
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Linguistic Tics (106)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd,Author: Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Aug 31, 2008
Linguistic tics: Friends, this week Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd sort of, you know, explore little linguistic tics, right?
Paralinguistic vs. linguistic tics (1:59)
Causes of linguistic tics; tics as style identifiers; some classic linguist tics (5:32)
Music bumper from “Telepop” by The Jerrys (16:35)
Linguistic tics in languages other than English (17:15)
Song: “Uh Huh-Oh No” by Anne [...]
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Ambiguity (105)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Aug 24, 2008
Ambiguity: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd try very hard to figure out exactly what each other means, as they explore the topic of ambiguity.
Thanks to Paul L., Smaran D., Mary M., Michelle M., Dolores B., and Peter D. for PayPal donations (1:52)
Emails from Paul L., Adam R., Maria C., and Anne J. Also, Evan [...]
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Syntax (104)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Jul 27, 2008
Syntax: This week it’s shake-up the order of sentences that Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd do, as explore the topic of syntax they shall.
Thanks to Emma H. and Mary T. for PayPal donations (2:07)
Syntax: not just word order, but sentence structure in general. Which came first, the thing or the act? (2:33)
Music bumper [...]
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Please complete our audience survey. (103A)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Fri, Jul 25, 2008
The Word Nerds would be very grateful if everyone listening could complete the audience survey on our website, thewordnerds.org. See the navigation column on the right side of the web page. This survey will give us valuable statistical evidence of who is listening to our show, so that any advertising we do is appropriate and [...]
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Prosody (103)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Mon, Jul 07, 2008
Prosody: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd try not to use “that tone” with each other as they discuss prosody in speech and in poetry.
Thanks to Marilyn O. for a PayPal donation (1:54)
Speech prosody: the rhythm, intonation, and grouping of sounds that are part of human speech. (2:17)
Music bumper from “Heartless” by Michael Burks [...]
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Rhetoric, part 3: Rhetoric in Famous Speeches (102)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Mon, May 26, 2008
Rhetoric in Famous Speeches: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd conclude their three-part series in rhetoric by presenting some examples of rhetoric and public discourse.
At the time this is posted, our web site is not fully functional. It will be fixed soon, so that you can find things and make PayPal donations. (1:54)
Dave and Barbara [...]
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Games and Wordplay (101)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Apr 20, 2008
Games and Wordplay: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd explore word games, games with words, and ways of playing with words.
Dave thanks Brad and Naoko for donations, and Naoko, Ralsen, Asa, Jason and Hossein for their emails. (1:59)
This show was inspired by a game published by Brad Chase, Orijinz. We play a couple of rounds. (Thanks, [...]
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Baby Talk (100)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Mar 22, 2008
Baby Talk: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd use their best adult vocabulary as they discuss baby talk.
Dave thanks Andy, Beverley and Jianxia for their support through the PayPal donation button. (2:00)
This is show #100. The recording date, March 21, is the third anniversary not only of The Word Nerds, but also of Schlaflos in MĂĽnchen. [...]
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Rhetoric, part 2?Tropes and Schemes (99)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Mar 01, 2008
Rhetoric, part 2–Tropes and Schemes: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd continue their discussion of rhetoric by exploring tropes, schemes, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
Grimace from the Word Nerds Forum corrects us on our example of a syllogism. (2:31)
Content versus style; tropes and schemes defined; and some examples of tropes. (Note: despite what Dave says in [...]
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Body Words (98)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Feb 09, 2008
Body Words: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd put their noses to the grindstone and go toe-to-toe in a tete-a-tete, as they talk about body words.
Dave thanks Scott and Mary for their support through the PayPal donation button. (2:05)
This topic is, of course, the theme of Charles Hodgson’s book Carnal Knowledge. It was suggested [...]
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Rhetoric, part 1 (97)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Jan 19, 2008
Rhetoric, part 1: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd explore the difference between rhetoric and dialectic. They invoke Plato, Aristotle, Rush Limbaugh and Michael Moore.
Dave thanks Michael, Tim, Emma, and Clint for their support through their PayPal donations to the show. (See the button on the right-hand navigation column of our web page.) (2:00)
Rhetoric, dialectic, [...]
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Special 2008 New Year?s Edition (96A)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Wed, Jan 02, 2008
2008 New Year’s special edition: Dave Shepherd sends New Year’s greetings from the Word Nerds team, and responds to listener feedback.
Dave reads and responds to emails from Hillary, Idiosyncratic Idiot, Chris, Rob, and Donna. (3:10)
A bald-faced solicitation of your donations through our PayPal button. (See the right-hand navigation column on our website.) (15:47)
Shows [...]
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Silence and Speechlessness (96)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Dec 09, 2007
Silence and Speechlessness: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd sit in silence for a few seconds–and then find that they have something to say after all. They explore speechlessness and silence.
We are currently somewhat speechless because of overwork. (2:02)
Speechlessness: when words fail us. (3:33)
Music bumper from “Silence” by Caitlyn Smith. (10:29)
Silence: sometimes empty, sometimes [...]
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Religious Words (95)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Nov 17, 2007
Religious Words: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd look deep within their souls–without proselytizing–as they talk about the connection between religious language and everyday language.
Religious words as they are re-appropriated into everyday life. Thanks to EJ for suggesting this topic, and letting us know about the technology evangelists. (1:58)
Howard Shepherd tells us about an interesting [...]
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Nicknames (94)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Oct 27, 2007
Nicknames: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd call each other by names other than their given names as they discuss nicknames.
Listener feedback (2:22)
Eke-names, mascots, and a shout-out to a former student (5:18)
Music bumper from “Grapes” by Evan Stone. (17:34)
Monikers–deliberately chosen or applied names (18:23)
Song: “Familar Names, Familiar Games” by Doug McLeod (22:50)
Rude word of the week: [...]
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Public Speaking (93)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Oct 06, 2007
Public speaking: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd sit very isolated in the Word Nerds studio, and yet speak to thousands of listeners about public speaking.
Oratory, rhetoric, and forensics (2:02)
Music bumper from “Forensic” by Nick Murray (14:29)
“Everyday” public speakers: teachers, podcasters, managers, and toasters (15:10)
Song: “Beer Toast” by Bobby Chitwood (25:43)
Rude word of the week: “rabble-rouser” [...]
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Transitions (92)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Sep 15, 2007
Transitions: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd try to move smoothly from one sub-topic to another as they talk about transitions, both in language and in life.
Emails and voice messages from Angy, Joel, MrGraphxFargo, Ken, and Ric (2:33)
Change in our lives, and the continuum of change and transition (5:51)
Music bumper from “Ockham’s Shaving Kit” by [...]
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?Inside? Language (91)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Aug 26, 2007
“Inside” Language: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd speak as clearly and openly as they can about “insider” language–normal words that outsiders cannot understand.
Our show is introduced this week by the man called Anne from Israel, known to Word Nerds Forum members as RabiAkiva. (0:01)
We encourage you once again to check out Charles Hodgson’s book Carnal [...]
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Small Talk (90)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Aug 04, 2007
Small talk: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd, who haven’t seen each other for several months, make and discuss small talk.
We encourage you to check our our friend Charles Hodgson’s book Carnal Knowledge. (2:22)
The inspiration for this show was the book How to Talk to Anybody About Anything by Leil Lowndes. (3:21)
In response to a voice [...]
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Synonyms (89)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Tue, Jul 17, 2007
Synonyms: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd discuss, chat, and talk about a plethora, a bundle, a whole bunch of ideas about synonyms.
Austin Tichenor of the Reduced Shakespeare Company left us an audio comment via our MyChingo button. (1:55)
It was Dave’s turn to travel to German-speaking Europe this past month. (3:04)
The inspiration for this show was [...]
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Abridgment (88)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Jun 24, 2007
Abridgment: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd leave out all the unimportant parts as they talk about abridgment. We feature the masters of abridgment, the Reduced Shakespeare Company.
We’ve been away. While we were gone, the Nerd Number died. But now you can leave an audio message with our MyChingo button. (1:52)
Definitions of “abridge,” plus some related [...]
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Spring Break (87A)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Mon, Apr 23, 2007
Spring Break Edition: Dave Shepherd does not have a linguistic topic, nor a Rude Word, nor a song–but he does respond to your emails and voicemails, and announces a new feature to the website.
The Virginia Tech shooting touched us–but not directly. (2:20)
We have a new feature on our blog site, a MyChingo button. Leave us [...]
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Expletives (87)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Mar 31, 2007
Expletives, both rude and non-rude: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd have a rollicking good time, filling out the time of the show by talking about expletives. (NOTE: This show contains some of the rudest language we have every explicated on The Word Nerds. Not work-, school-, or family-safe!)
This week’s show will have a forum thread [...]
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Food Metaphors (86)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Mar 11, 2007
Food and cooking metaphors: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd explore the joys of cooking and eating by talking about food metaphors.
Dave points listeners to the Deutsch 4 Podcast. Dave recently met with Bob Wright of the Baseball History Podcast when Bob was in DC for a conference of food bank volunteers and workers. Today’s topic [...]
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Myth and Legend (85)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Feb 18, 2007
Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd tell some tall tales about myth, legend, and language.
Dave encourages listeners to digg our podcast (see the sidebar on the right side of our main blog page) and to visit the Word Nerds Forum to participate in the thread about this show. (2:52)
Myth and legend: Why do they exist? What [...]
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Modal Verbs (84)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Jan 27, 2007
Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd should, can, and must discuss modal verbs.
Howard gives a shoutout to Henrik Hansen and to the Danish language-related podcast Sproghjørnet. (2:17)
Howard and Dave give an overview of auxiliary verbs, of which modal verbs are a subset. (3:17)
Music bumper from “Just Looking,” by The Jerrys (9:32)
Modal verbs and grammatical mood (10:11)
Song: [...]
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Resolutions (83)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Jan 13, 2007
Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd welcome the new year by talking about resolutions and promises.
Dave announces the repair of our feed problem and reads listener email regarding EilzĂĽge. (2:20)
Dave and Barbara talk about the nature and timing of New Year’s resolutions and promises. (4:32)
Music bumper from “The New Year,” by Love = Action (11:58)
How people [...]
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Speed (82)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Dec 23, 2006
Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd are in a massive hurry to talk about speed.
Dave responds to feedback (2:08)
Jesse Thorn of The Sound of Young America sent us a copy of Sky Maul: Happy Crap You Can Buy From a Plane, by Kasper Hauser.
Voicemail from Kristin of The Manic Mommies
Our forum is now spam-free! Come talk [...]
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Thanks and Gratitude (80)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Mon, Nov 20, 2006
Dave Shepherd explores the linguistic workings of thanks and gratitude.
Listeners respond with voicemails and emails. We thank you for your participation. (2:02)
Thanks and thanksgiving (7:30)
Song: “Thank you,” by All Mighty Whispers (15:24)
Rude word of the week: “ingrate” (18:24)
Music bumper from “Tonight” by Zach Ashton (20:34)
How gratitude is different from thanks (20:55)
Music courtesy of The [...]
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Sports Language (79)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Oct 29, 2006
Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd get their game faces on as they talk about the language of sports.
The vocabulary of sport: rule-based terms and slang terms (1:58)
Music bumper from “Natural Man,” by Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials (21:36)
How sports language functions (22:03)
Song: “Sitting Around Keeping Score,” by Spymob (26:11)
Rude word of the week: “palooka” [...]
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Derivatives (78)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Oct 15, 2006
Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang talk about derivatives–words that come from other words and how we came to love them.
The derivation of “derivative” (2:42)
How we became infatuated with derivatives (5:17)
Music bumper from “Court of Greedy Kings,” by Val Davis (11:07)
Word Power through derivatives (”plant that seed, watch it grow”) (11:23)
Song: “Carbon Copy” by Sister Machine [...]
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Periodicity (77)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Sep 24, 2006
Dave Shepherd announces a change in frequency of the publication of The Word Nerds. (1:56)
News from the podcasting world (4:20)
Annik Rubens suspends Schlaflos in MĂĽnchen
Apple issues cease and desist letters against companies using “podcast” in their name.
Voicemail from a new listener (7:39)
Song: “Day to Day,” by The Numbers (9:07)
Rude word of the week: “spaz” (12:25)
Music [...]
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Equivocation and Discourse (76)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Mon, Sep 18, 2006
Howard Shepherd talks about his favorite summer reading book–Special Topics in Calamity Physics, a first novel by his former student Marisha Pessl. (2:47)
Reasons for equivocating (4:37)
Music bumper from “Ockham’s Shaving Kit,” by George Hrab (14:46)
Verbal and lingual ways of equivocating (15:27)
Song: “Maybe I’ll Wait,” by Robin Welty (21:36)
Rude word of the week: “weasel” (25:16)
Music [...]
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Our Summer Reading (75)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Sep 10, 2006
Dave Shepherd, Barbara Shepherd, and Howard Chang talk about their summer reading. (2:14)
Dave’s recent favorites:
The Word Nerds Discussion forum
Online fora related to magic
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Baseball as America, by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
Dai Vernon: A Biography, by David Ben
The Secret Art of Magic, by Eric Evans and Nowlin Craver
Barbara’s [...]
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Summer Vacation Edition (74)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Aug 05, 2006
Dave Shepherd announces a summer vacation for and from The Word Nerds. The show will return with new editions on September 9.
(This is take 2 of this program. Take 1 was done using Ăśbercaster, but Dave hasn’t yet learned all the ins and outs of that new Macintosh podcasting software. You’re not imagining things: there [...]
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Endings (73)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Jul 29, 2006
Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, and Howard Chang talk about endings–of conversations, relationships, jobs, etc. (NOT of podcasts; we are not leaving!)
Linguistic cues for endings (1:56)
Music bumper from “My Living Will,” by The Finale (10:05)
Non-verbal and non-oral cues: body language, “the thin envelope” (10:50)
Song: “Last to Leave,” by Hot Rod Cadets (17:49)
Rude word of the week: [...]
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Fustian Circumlocution (72)
Author: Dave ShepherdAuthor: , Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Jul 23, 2006
Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, and Howard Chang ponder a plethora of orotund expressions. That means they are talking about extravagant ways of expressing yourself. (Thanks to Michael Buchko for the topic suggestion.)
What we mean by fustian language: pompous, bombastic ways of saying very little by using a lot of syllables; some quotations from fustian speakers [...]
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Jokes (71)
Author: Dave ShepherdAuthor: , Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Jul 15, 2006
Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, and Howard Chang talk about jokes and humor. (What a bunch of chuckleheads!)
The philosophical underpinnings of humor (2:01)
Music bumper from by “The Corner of Sacco and Vanzetti” by Shibboleth (11:20)
Categories of humor (11:57)
Song: “Inside Joke,” by Little Thom (22:51)
Rude word of the week: “bombing” (or shall we say, this segment is [...]
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Conversational Rules and Etiquette (70)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Jul 08, 2006
Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, and Howard Chang discuss the rules, etiquette, and media of everyday conversations.
Various ways the Word Nerds audience can converse with us, and with each other (1:59)
Face-to-face conversation (4:59)
Music bumper from by “Conversations” by Saurab Bhargava (14:43)
Conversing on the telephone (15:21)
Song: “Cool Conversation,” by Dminor (20:51)
Rude word of the week: “loudmouth” (25:13)
Music [...]
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Failure and Success (69)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Jul 01, 2006
Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang talk about failure and success, having recently seen many students succeed (and some fail) at the end of the school year.
Metaphors for success and failure in sports (3:46)
Success and failure in school (11:06)
Music bumper from “Loser Blues” by Electrobuddha (19:46)
Euphemisms for losing (20:24)
Song: “Nothing to Lose,” by Clip (26:07)
Rude word [...]
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Slurring and Elision (68)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Jun 24, 2006
Dave Shepherd and Howard Shepherd try not to run their words together as they discuss slurring and elision in spoken language.
Responses to listener emails. Howard was recently a guest on EatFeed. (1:51)
Dysarthria: pathological elision (9:47)
Elision as an agent of language change: “everyday” elision and “expedient” elision (11:24)
Music bumper from by “Telepop” by The Jerrys (17:47)
Elision [...]
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Wine Words (67)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang,Author: Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Jun 18, 2006
Dave and Barbara Shepherd explore the language of wine. Recently, along with Julie and Mark of Washington TravelCast, they toured some Virginia wineries. (Website photos by Dave)
How to talk about the qualities of wine (3:50)
Interviews: John Fitter of Piedmont Vineyards and Winery and Rick Tagg of Pearmund Cellars talk about how they describe wine. (4:33)
Music [...]
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Greetings and Partings (66)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Jun 10, 2006
Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang discuss greetings and partings at the end of the school year, when they must say good-bye to a lot of people.
The functions of greetings and partings (1:50)
Music bumper from by “Goodbye, Good Luck, Good Riddance” by The Joel Lightman Band (18:26)
Idioms of greeting and parting (19:03)
Song: “Turn Around and Say [...]
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Hyperbole (65)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sun, Jun 04, 2006
Dave Shepherd and Howard Shepherd discuss hyperbole and exaggeration. (It’s the best podcast ever!)
Dave talks a bit about our changeover to our new blog site (1:51)
Howard and Dave explore the etymologies of “hyperbole” and “exaggeration” and discuss why speakers tend to exaggerate. (4:01)
Comic uses of hyperbole (10:45)
Music bumper from by “Bongo Booty” by Vincent [...]
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Memory and Language (64)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, May 27, 2006
Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang try to recall why they settled on the topic of Memory and Language. (2:11)
Storytelling (4:19)
Music bumper from “Remember” by Bob Kirkpatrick (10:40)
Attribution of words (11:25)
Song: “Future Memory,” by Heth and Jed (17:21)
Rude word of the week: “special” (21:11)
Music bumper from “She Hates Love Songs by Katie Davis (25:05)
Memory loss (25:33)
Do [...]
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We?re changing our blog! (63.5)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Wed, May 24, 2006
Dave Shepherd announces changes to The Word Nerds’ blog and feed, which will take place this weekend. The web address for The Word Nerds will remain thewordnerds.org, and the feed address will stay thewordnerds.org/rss.
[EDIT: The very best way to subscribe is to use thewordnerds.org/feed. If you are already subscribed using /rss, it will work, but [...]
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Idioms and Culture (63)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, May 20, 2006
Dave Shepherd welcomes back the North Carolina Nerd, Howard Shepherd, who is home from his travels to Denmark. Dave and Howard respond to several voicemails and emails about ePrime and puns. (1:55)
Howard shares his memories of his trip with his students to Hobro Gymnasium in Denmark. (8:53)
Revisiting our show on Insidious Idioms, we explain our [...]
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Non-verbal Communication (62)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, May 13, 2006
Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang talk about environments in which we communicate without using any words: elevators, restrooms, automobiles, interviews (1:59)
Music bumper from “Jona Lee” by Roomful of Blues (12:32)
Non-verbal communication in romance, sports, and the classroom (12:51)
Music and dance (19:19)
Song: “There Ain’t No Words,” by Harrison Kennedy (22:08)
Rude word of the week: “dumb” (25:43)
Music [...]
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Acting and Performance (61)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, May 06, 2006
Dave Shepherd welcomes his wife Barbara once again as a guest Word Nerd. Dave and Barbara, who met in drama school years ago, discuss their shared background as actors. (1:54)
The specialized vocabulary of the theatre (5:51)
Music bumper from “Overreacting” by Brad Sucks (15:05)
Acting and performance in everyday life: the roles we play (15:29)
Song: “All the [...]
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Race and Language (60)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Apr 29, 2006
Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang welcome a voicemail on the Nerd Number from Hillary Israeli, on modern Hebrew as an invented language. (2:06)
Dave and Howard discuss racial labels and epithets, and the boundaries of acceptability. (4:35)
Music bumper from “Nada” by Jaime Beauchamp (16:24)
Race and identity: what is “race”? (17:01)
Song: “Black Madonna,” by Sophia Ramos (25:54)
Rude [...]
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Puns (59)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Apr 22, 2006
Dave Shepherd and Howard Shepherd respond to a voicemail from Chad at Me and the Bean about the secret girl language. (1:58)Dave and Howard explore several different sorts of puns. (4:18)
Music bumper from “Nada” by Jaime Beauchamp (11:26)
Some serious puns (12:11)
Song: “Absinthe Minded,” by Adrienne Pierce (16:03)
Rude word of the week: “dullard” (as in somebody [...]
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Music and Language (58)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Apr 15, 2006
Barbara Shepherd returns for the second week as a guest Nerd. She and Dave Shepherd respond to an email from Fred Chalfant about Barbara’s grandmother’s name. (2:52)
Dave and Barbara, who are both musicians, talk about the importance of music in their lives. (4:23)
Music bumper from “Tonight” by Zach Ashton (9:11)
What music does to language: poetry, [...]
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Age and Language (57)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Apr 08, 2006
Since Howard Shepherd and Howard Chang are both travelling the world, Dave Shepherd welcomes a special guest Nerd, Barbara Shepherd (the Love of His Life). (1:57)
Dave and Barbara talk about their favorite new podcast, Washington Travel Cast, produced by their good friends, Julie and Mark. Join Julie and Mark on podcast walking tours of Washington [...]
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Language of Deception (56)
Author: Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang, Barbara Shepherd
Sat, Apr 01, 2006
Dave Shepherd welcomes Adam Curry, Ashlee Simpson, and Howard Stern to the Word Nerds’ studio. APRIL FOOLS! Just kidding! It’s really Dave and Howard Chang. Dave and Howard respond to voicemail from Patrick regarding the Rude Word of the Week. (1:59)
On April Fools Day, Dave and Howard explore the relationship of language to deception and [...]
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- Published:
2002
- LearnOutLoud.com Product ID:
T007287
Languages
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