978. Join Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author, Charles Duhigg, as we talk about mastering the art of communication and his new book, "Supercommunicators." We explore the skills anyone (yes, you!) can learn to become a powerful communicator. Learn about the science behind effective communication, from NASA's emotional intelligence tests for astronauts to everyday interactions that can make or break relationships. Learn about the art of asking the right questions, the importance of matching conversational styles, and the profound impact of understanding and being understood ..read more

977. This week, we cover the latest AP Stylebook updates that were just revealed at the ACES conference. From the switch to Merriam-Webster to easing up on the word "unique," we look at what these changes mean for writers and editors. Plus, we explore "catawampus" thanks to its cameo in the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" finale. Learn about its quirky origins, regional differences, and wordy friends like "kitty-corner." | Kitty-corner map: https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/articles/kitty-corner-or-catty-corner/ | Register for my beginning AP style webinar April 23: bit.ly/ggap2024. Use the code MACMIL ..read more

976. How have our pets influenced the way we use language? This week, we dive into the "cativerse" and explore the vocabulary, grammar, and spelling habits of our furry friends. From LOLcats to doggo dialects, discover the linguistic wonders of how we talk about our beloved pets. Plus, don't get tripped up by "imply" versus "infer."  In the second segment, we dive into the definitions, origins, and proper usage of these often-confused words. The pet-speak segment was written by Susan Herman, a retired U.S. government multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and instructor. | Na ..read more

975. This week, I learned all about audiobook narration from David H. Lawrence XVII, who is launching a new program called "Narrate Your Own Audiobook." If you've ever dreamed of being a narrator, this episode is for you! And if you're a self-published author who has always wanted to narrate your own audiobook (or feel like you should), this episode is especially for you. We talk about many of the fears that might be holding you back and why they don't matter as much as you probably imagine. If you want to learn even more, you can watch three free videos (about 40 minutes each) where David goe ..read more

974. How does aging affect our ability to understand language? From the challenges of processing complex sentences to the resilience you get from a rich vocabulary, we look at how our language skills change over time.  Plus, looking into why people say "anyways" led me to some interesting historical tidbits. The aging segment was written by Valerie Fridland, a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada in Reno and the author of "Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English." A version of the piece originally appeared on Psychology Today, and you can find her at val ..read more

973. "Oppenheimer" leads us to wonder about the "nucular" pronunciation of "nuclear." And why do people have that second capital letter in the middle of MySpace, OutKast, and PowerPoint (and is it grammatically correct)? | Edited transcript with links: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/nuclear/transcript | Grammarpalooza (Get texts from Mignon!): https://joinsubtext.com/grammar or text "hello" to (917) 540-0876. | Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. | Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses. | Peeve Wars card game.  | Grammar Girl books.  ..read more

972. How did humans evolve from grunting ape-like ancestors to masters of language and poetry? This week, we explore fascinating theories on the origins of human language, including the laugh-inducing Bow-Wow and Pooh-Pooh theories. We also delve into Irish-English calques for St. Patrick's Day (and in response to a question from a Grammarpaloozian) and celebrate Leslie F. Miller's winning limerick from the National Grammar Day contest. Miller works as a health care writer in Baltimore. She is the author of the nonfiction book "Let Me Eat Cake: A Celebration of Flour, Sugar, Butter, Eggs, Vani ..read more

971. Linguists have traced modern languages like English and Sanskrit back over thousands of years to a single Proto-Indo-European source. This week, we explore their detective work and the debates around the origins of the ancestral tongue. This piece was written by Kurt Kleiner, a freelance science and technology writer living in Toronto. It originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, a digital publication dedicated to making scientific knowledge accessible to all. Explore the latest at knowablemagazine.org. | Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/indo-european/transcript ..read more

970. We answer a listener question about the difference between "addictive" and "addicting," and then we look at how to write compound nouns: did you visit a coffeehouse or a coffee house? | Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/addictive/transcript | Grammarpalooza (Get texts from Mignon!): https://joinsubtext.com/grammar or text "hello" to (917) 540-0876. | Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates. | Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses. | Peeve Wars card game.  | Grammar Girl books.  | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GI ..read more

969. From "wolkenkratzer" in German to "flea market" in English, direct translations called calques show how languages borrow from each other. This week, we look at how these translations are changing English in Miami and Spanish in Louisiana. Plus, we look at the difference between "gumball machine" and "gumballs machine" and how it might explain Joe Alwyn's Tortured Man Chat. The calques segment was written by Susan K. Herman, a retired multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and instructor for the federal government. | Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/cal ..read more