S8 Ep. 3: Anne Curzan on Our Changing Language

fiction/non/fiction

Linguist, writer, and professor Anne Curzan joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss how language is constantly changing—and how that’s okay. Curzan talks about how, in her work as an English language historian, she’s learned that people have always been critical of usage changes; Ben Franklin, for instance, didn’t care for colonize as a verb. But, Curzan explains, as much as “grammandos” bemoan the evolution of language, it can’t be stopped—singular “they,” “funnest,” and “very unique” are here to stay. Curzan reads from her book, Says Who? A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Language.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This episode of the podcast was produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Anne Curzan

• Says Who? A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words
• “‘They’ has been a singular pronoun for centuries. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s wrong.” | October 21, 2021 | The Washington Post
• 
  

Others:

• Grammando
• Declaration of Independence
• Dreyer’s English: And Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer
• The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White
• Fiction/Non/Fiction Season: One Episode, 12: “C. Riley Snorton and T Fleischmann Talk Gender, Freedom, and Transitivity”
• Antonin Scalia
• Will Shortz
• Maxine Hong Kingston
• The American Heritage Dictionary
• Urban Dictionary
• Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
• Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices