Oct 29th, 2008 · The McCain campaign's charge that Barack Obama has socialist leanings has put the spotlight on a word relatively uncommon to modern American elections. Linguist Geoff Nunberg explains how the "S" word was used in the past — and why it's come up now.
Oct 15th, 2008 · What do Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, George W. Bush, and John Edwards have in common? They've all been criticized for the way they speak. Linguist Geoff Nunberg has some thoughts about candidates and regional cadence.
Sep 16th, 2008 · When Barack Obama trotted out a well-worn, folksy phrase about cosmetics and swine, the political world developed a sudden rash. Linguist Geoff Nunberg asks what all the shouting was about.
Jul 4th, 2008 · Linguist Geoff Nunberg reflects on the life and language of the late comedian George Carlin, the master of observational humor who died last month. In the 1970s, Carlin observed: "There are 400,000 words in the English language, and there are seven of them you can't say on television. What a ratio that is: 399,993 to seven. They must really be bad." Then he proceeded to say them.
Feb 14th, 2007 · Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the sending of Valentine's messages via telephone, the postal system, and e-mail. What does it say about the evolution of personal communication?
May 8th, 2006 · Linguist Geoff Nunberg on the futility of trying to determine how many words there are in the English language.
Jun 21st, 2005 · The publishers of Poetry Magazine have been using the proceeds of a large bequest to encourage the practice of memorizing poetry. Linguist Geoff Nunberg comments.
Apr 7th, 2005 · Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the adjectives pro and con used to describe the President's social security proposal.