This article featured previously in The Tribune Weekend section on June 24.
Election season is in the air, but how do we talk about the race to win the vote? The first of our podcasts this week – looking at words and how they are used – dips its toe into the electoral pool.
A Way With Words
What are the words that really drive
you mad? The ways of describing things that really seem over the
top? Well, the way we describe elections today once worked up
writers into quite a later back at the end of the 19th
century. The podcast A Way With Words highlights writers back
then who complained about the way that elections were being
described – particularly the word “campaign”.
The writers at the time took issue
with elections being dressed up in the language of the military
and warfare, one calling such speech “inflamed newspaper English
masquerading as eloquence”, adding” “An election has no manner
of likeness to a campaign or a battle; it is a mere comparison.”
The show is great at tearing into
examples of language usage such as those above and others raised
by callers. Hosts Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett are witty
and exceptionally knowledgeable, especially as they deal with
questions raised by callers when they haven't had the chance to
research the material beforehand. It's a loose, relaxed, chatty
show, and ideal listening to wile away a lunch hour.
They also highlight examples which
might infuriate us today – but who knows how the future will
look back on these uses of language considering we routinely
talk of campaigns and election victories nowadays.
One of those I sincerely hope
doesn't take hold – apparently in the tech industry, workers are
sometimes referred to as having “graduated”. Sounds good, right?
Alas, this is some horrible management-speak for someone having
been fired, where they have “graduated” to no longer working
with the company. I may be joining the ranks of those 19th
century writers when it comes to phrases like that.
Website: www.waywordradio.org
Grammar Girl
The Grammar Girl podcast also picks
up on the subject of graduation – but from a different angle,
asking the question why is something that is the end of your
studies so commonly referred to as a “commencement”.
The root of it reaches back in
history – and there are a couple of possible answers. One
suggests that it represents the start of students' new lives in
the world, but another more interestingly goes back into
medieval times when teaching was a guild. Students were the
apprentices to the teacher, and at the end of their studies,
they were initiatied into the master of the arts guild, the
commencement of their careers as masters of arts.
This particular show also hands out
tips on grammar, such as how to use the word “it” - and how not
to.
Host Mignon Fogerty certainly knows
her stuff, and there's a lot of knowledge passed along in the 15
minutes or so of the show. It's probably not a background listen
– this is one to pay attention to if you want to make the most
of the information provided. Think of it as a 15-minute exercise
for your brain!
The New Yorker Poetry Podcast
Lastly, something relaxing but still
very much with a focus on getting the most out of your word
power.
The New Yorker website has a podcast
section devoted to poetry. The format is simple, a poet reads a
classic poem, and then one of their own works, having been
introduced by the host beforehand and taking the time to discuss
the strengths of each poem, the history behind their writing,
and the personal importance it has to the reader.
The most recent show featured
Northern Irish poet Nick Laird reading The Moose by Elizabeth
Bishop, and it's a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere in which to
enjoy a poem that is far from relaxing itself.
There are regular shows, all
excellently produced, hosted by Paul Muldoon. The analysis can
get a little over-indulgent at times, but if you can't indulge
yourself when sharing your favourite poetry, when can you? At
about 15 minutes per show, it's a quick listen that's very well
worth the time of those of us who truly love words.
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