Marker 01

Marker 02

This hour we look at mis-speaks, mis-hearings and mis-understandings, like malapropisms, mondegreens, eggcorns, and spoonerisms. We'll share our favorite examples and learn about what they can tell us about the English language, and how our brains process language. And we'll celebrate the joy of playing with language.

GUESTS: 
Emily Brewster: Senior Editor and lexicographer at Merriam-Webster, and host of the “Word Matters” podcast
Melissa Baese-Berk: Professor of language teaching studies and linguistics at the University of Oregon, where she is also director of the Speech Perception and Production Lab 
Ben Zimmer: Linguist, lexicographer, and the “Word on the Street” columnist for The Wall Street Journal

Join the conversation onFacebook and Twitter.

This hour we look at mis-speaks, mis-hearings and mis-understandings, like malapropisms, mondegreens, eggcorns, and spoonerisms. We'll share our favorite examples and learn about what they can tell us about the English language, and how our brains process language. And we'll celebrate the joy of playing with language.
GUESTS: 
<ul>
<li>Emily Brewster: Senior Editor and lexicographer at <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/">Merriam-Webster</a>, and host of the<a href="https://www.nepm.org/podcast/word-matters"> “Word Matters” podcast</a>  </li>
<li>Melissa Baese-Berk: Professor of language teaching studies and linguistics at the University of Oregon, where she is also director of the Speech Perception and Production Lab </li>
<li>Ben Zimmer: Linguist, lexicographer, and the<a href="https://www.wsj.com/news/types/word-on-the-street"> “Word on the Street” columnist </a>for The Wall Street Journal</li>
</ul>
Join the conversation on<a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow"></a><a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a> and<a href="https://twitter.com/colinmcshow"> Twitter</a>.

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.