This is Dave Shepherd with an update on the status of the Word Nerds podcast. Most of you have noticed that we Word Nerds have been absent from the airwaves (or the Internet-waves) since April of this year. We’re sorry about our extended absence. Over the past four years we have built a sizeable community around [...]

Workplace communications: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd are off the job while recording this show, but they will be talking about workplace communications. The fourth anniversary of The Word Nerds was on March 21. (2:08) The tone of workplace communications; workplace jargon; methods of communicating on the job (3:06) Music bumper from “The Corner of Sacco and Vanzetti” [...]

Nostalgia: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd are on location in one of the important places of their young adulthood, where they talk about nostalgia. Thanks to Maureen B. for a PayPal donation. Dave makes a couple of corrections. Thanks to Jack Sprat Café on E. Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for providing space for [...]

Writing: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd glance down at their written notes–albeit not handwritten–as they talk about writing. Thanks to Kay Horst S., Jeff O., Kate S., Margaret C., and an anonymous friend for donations through the PayPal button. Thanks as well to Alan H., who sent us the link to the BBC news article that [...]

Translation: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd bring a certain je ne sais quoi to their discussion of translation. Thanks to renaissance247 for the email suggestion of this show topic. (2:33) Practical problems in translation; “good” and “bad” translation; the importance of accuracy (3:36) Music bumper from “Foreign Affair” by Brad Wheeler (9:37) Translating well-known texts: Martin Luther, Rainer Maria [...]

Facebook and Social Networking: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd announced their status to their Facebook friends as they recorded this discussion of Facebook and other social networks. Our experience with Facebook, and the Facebook experience in general (2:10) Music bumper from “Social” by Charming (17:39) The effect of Facebook on language: how we talk to each other and [...]

Words and Phrases That Tick Us Off! Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd are grouchy at the end of a tough work week. They explore words and phrases that tick them off. Thanks to Warren G., John P., Andreas B., Elin P. David W., Mary T., and Nancy E.-W. for donations through the PayPal button. Thanks also [...]

Abbrevs. & txt: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd try not to LOL as they talk about text messaging and abbreviations. Howard Chang is back! The rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated. (2:24) Abbreviations throughout history: nearly as old as the Roman alphabet (at least) (3:41) Music bumper from “The Message” by Norman Hedman’s Tropique. (16:08) Discovering “online” language [...]

Currency: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd cash in on the latest news and trends as they talk about currency–in money and in speech. Investing something (language or money) with value; potency and context (2:10) Profanity and language in different cultural contexts; a citation from John Ciardi, the Charles Hodgson of the 1980s (8:30) Music bumper from “Topsy” by [...]

Morphing, Changing, and Dying Words: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd look at words that shift and change over time–or sometimes die out altogether. Thanks to Carlos in Spain, who recently helped us discovered a technical problem with our site and podcast. The Word Nerds now have a page on Facebook. (Dave briefly confuses Facebook with MySpace.) [...]

Say Again? Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd discuss remakes, do-overs, and other kinds of re-visitation. Thanks to Patrick M., Alan H., Leandro B., Stuart W., Dmitriy P., and Peter L. for PayPal donations. Thanks also to Tom D., Tomas A., Anne J., Steve H., and Peter H. for emails. (2:11) The need to revisit “old” topics [...]

Irony and Satire: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd try to avoid speaking sarcastically to each other as they explore irony and satire. This week’s topic was suggested by Abbie G., a smart 9th-grader. Ironically, this show ended up being rated “R” and given an explicit tag. (Sorry, Abbie!) (2:08) Dave and Barbara just attended the show [...]

Stories and Storytelling: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd are in Jonesborough, Tennessee, at the National Storytelling Festival, where they discuss stories and storytelling. Thanks to Martin P. for a PayPal donation (1:58) We are in Jonesborough, Tennessee, the oldest town in Tennessee, home of the International Storytelling Center and host to the National Storytelling Festival. (2:19) Why [...]

Debate: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd argue back and forth and try to come to agreement about the meaning of debate. Thanks to Alex Enkerli for an audio comment on MyChingo. (2:03) This edition was inspired by an email from Paul Lawler (3:45) Definitions of debate; what exactly constitutes a debate? (5:26) Music bumper from “Arabesque” by Mauricio [...]

Linguistic tics: Friends, this week Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd sort of, you know, explore little linguistic tics, right? Paralinguistic vs. linguistic tics (1:59) Causes of linguistic tics; tics as style identifiers; some classic linguist tics (5:32) Music bumper from “Telepop” by The Jerrys (16:35) Linguistic tics in languages other than English (17:15) Song: “Uh Huh-Oh No” by Anne [...]

Ambiguity: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd try very hard to figure out exactly what each other means, as they explore the topic of ambiguity. Thanks to Paul L., Smaran D., Mary M., Michelle M., Dolores B., and Peter D. for PayPal donations (1:52) Emails from Paul L., Adam R., Maria C., and Anne J. Also, Evan [...]

Syntax: This week it’s shake-up the order of sentences that Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd do, as explore the topic of syntax they shall. Thanks to Emma H. and Mary T. for PayPal donations (2:07) Syntax: not just word order, but sentence structure in general. Which came first, the thing or the act? (2:33) Music bumper [...]

The Word Nerds would  be very grateful if everyone listening could complete the audience survey on our website, thewordnerds.org. See the navigation column on the right side of the web page. This survey will give us valuable statistical evidence of who is listening to our show, so that any advertising we do is appropriate and [...]

Prosody: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd try not to use “that tone” with each other as they discuss prosody in speech and in poetry. Thanks to Marilyn O. for a PayPal donation (1:54) Speech prosody: the rhythm, intonation, and grouping of sounds that are part of human speech. (2:17) Music bumper from “Heartless” by Michael Burks [...]

Rhetoric in Famous Speeches: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd conclude their three-part series in rhetoric by presenting some examples of rhetoric and public discourse. At the time this is posted, our web site is not fully functional. It will be fixed soon, so that you can find things and make PayPal donations. (1:54) Dave and Barbara [...]

Games and Wordplay: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd explore word games, games with words, and ways of playing with words. Dave thanks Brad and Naoko for donations, and Naoko, Ralsen, Asa, Jason and Hossein for their emails. (1:59) This show was inspired by a game published by Brad Chase, Orijinz. We play a couple of rounds. (Thanks, [...]

Baby Talk: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd use their best adult vocabulary as they discuss baby talk. Dave thanks Andy, Beverley and Jianxia for their support through the PayPal donation button. (2:00) This is show #100. The recording date, March 21, is the third anniversary not only of The Word Nerds, but also of Schlaflos in München. [...]

Rhetoric, part 2–Tropes and Schemes: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd continue their discussion of rhetoric by exploring tropes, schemes, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Grimace from the Word Nerds Forum corrects us on our example of a syllogism. (2:31) Content versus style; tropes and schemes defined; and some examples of tropes. (Note: despite what Dave says in [...]

Body Words: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd put their noses to the grindstone and go toe-to-toe in a tete-a-tete, as they talk about body words. Dave thanks Scott and Mary for their support through the PayPal donation button. (2:05) This topic is, of course, the theme of Charles Hodgson’s book Carnal Knowledge. It was suggested [...]

Rhetoric, part 1: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd explore the difference between rhetoric and dialectic. They invoke Plato, Aristotle, Rush Limbaugh and Michael Moore. Dave thanks Michael, Tim, Emma, and Clint for their support through their PayPal donations to the show. (See the button on the right-hand navigation column of our web page.) (2:00) Rhetoric, dialectic, [...]

2008 New Year’s special edition: Dave Shepherd sends New Year’s greetings from the Word Nerds team, and responds to listener feedback. Dave reads and responds to emails from Hillary, Idiosyncratic Idiot, Chris, Rob, and Donna. (3:10) A bald-faced solicitation of your donations through our PayPal button. (See the right-hand navigation column on our website.) (15:47) Shows [...]

Silence and Speechlessness: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd sit in silence for a few seconds–and then find that they have something to say after all. They explore speechlessness and silence. We are currently somewhat speechless because of overwork. (2:02) Speechlessness: when words fail us. (3:33) Music bumper from “Silence” by Caitlyn Smith. (10:29) Silence: sometimes empty, sometimes [...]

Religious Words: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd look deep within their souls–without proselytizing–as they talk about the connection between religious language and everyday language. Religious words as they are re-appropriated into everyday life. Thanks to EJ for suggesting this topic, and letting us know about the technology evangelists. (1:58) Howard Shepherd tells us about an interesting [...]

Nicknames: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd call each other by names other than their given names as they discuss nicknames. Listener feedback (2:22) Eke-names, mascots, and a shout-out to a former student (5:18) Music bumper from “Grapes” by Evan Stone. (17:34) Monikers–deliberately chosen or applied names (18:23) Song: “Familar Names, Familiar Games” by Doug McLeod (22:50) Rude word of the week: [...]

Public speaking: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd sit very isolated in the Word Nerds studio, and yet speak to thousands of listeners about public speaking. Oratory, rhetoric, and forensics (2:02) Music bumper from “Forensic” by Nick Murray (14:29) “Everyday” public speakers: teachers, podcasters, managers, and toasters (15:10) Song: “Beer Toast” by Bobby Chitwood (25:43) Rude word of the week: “rabble-rouser” [...]

Transitions: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd try to move smoothly from one sub-topic to another as they talk about transitions, both in language and in life. Emails and voice messages from Angy, Joel, MrGraphxFargo, Ken, and Ric (2:33) Change in our lives, and the continuum of change and transition (5:51) Music bumper from “Ockham’s Shaving Kit” by [...]

“Inside” Language: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd speak as clearly and openly as they can about “insider” language–normal words that outsiders cannot understand. Our show is introduced this week by the man called Anne from Israel, known to Word Nerds Forum members as RabiAkiva. (0:01) We encourage you once again to check out Charles Hodgson’s book Carnal [...]

Small talk: Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd, who haven’t seen each other for several months, make and discuss small talk. We encourage you to check our our friend Charles Hodgson’s book Carnal Knowledge. (2:22) The inspiration for this show was the book How to Talk to Anybody About Anything by Leil Lowndes. (3:21) In response to a voice [...]

Synonyms: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd discuss, chat, and talk about a plethora, a bundle, a whole bunch of ideas about synonyms. Austin Tichenor of the Reduced Shakespeare Company left us an audio comment via our MyChingo button. (1:55) It was Dave’s turn to travel to German-speaking Europe this past month. (3:04) The inspiration for this show was [...]

Abridgment: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd leave out all the unimportant parts as they talk about abridgment. We feature the masters of abridgment, the Reduced Shakespeare Company. We’ve been away. While we were gone, the Nerd Number died. But now you can leave an audio message with our MyChingo button. (1:52) Definitions of “abridge,” plus some related [...]

After some frantic posting and emailing to several knowledgable people, including fellow podcasters on the Yahoo Podcasters group, I think I have fixed our site. You should now be able to directly download our shows. I have not tested it yet, but I believe you also should be able to download via your podcatcher’s subscription (i.e., [...]

A listener posted a comment alerting me to the fact that our media files seemed to be unavailable for download. I don’t know what has happened to our blog or feed to cause this, but I have a couple of inquiries out. I apologize for this unexpected glitch that has temporarily taken The Word Nerds off the [...]

More than one person has asked us this question lately, via email or the forum. We have not died and gone away. The Word Nerds does continue to live. We just have not been able to record a new show in the past three weeks or more. The reason for this is quite simple: there is no [...]

Spring Break Edition: Dave Shepherd does not have a linguistic topic, nor a Rude Word, nor a song–but he does respond to your emails and voicemails, and announces a new feature to the website. The Virginia Tech shooting touched us–but not directly. (2:20) We have a new feature on our blog site, a MyChingo button. Leave us [...]

Expletives, both rude and non-rude: Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd have a rollicking good time, filling out the time of the show by talking about expletives. (NOTE: This show contains some of the rudest language we have every explicated on The Word Nerds. Not work-, school-, or family-safe!) This week’s show will have a forum thread [...]

Food and cooking metaphors: Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd explore the joys of cooking and eating by talking about food metaphors. Dave points listeners to the Deutsch 4 Podcast. Dave recently met with Bob Wright of the Baseball History Podcast when Bob was in DC for a conference of food bank volunteers and workers. Today’s topic [...]

Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd tell some tall tales about myth, legend, and language. Dave encourages listeners to digg our podcast (see the sidebar on the right side of our main blog page) and to visit the Word Nerds Forum to participate in the thread about this show. (2:52) Myth and legend: Why do they exist? What [...]

As you can tell by looking, our old familiar visual style is back. As this is written, the podcast feed seems to be working and the blog seems both to function and to look good. The sidebar links are in place, which means you have an easy way to vote for us on Podcast Alley, [...]

If you have come back to the Word Nerds’ website after having seen it before, it looks different (at least today, Thursday, February 8, 2007). This is due to the fact that we have moved the site to a new server. It will probably be a few days, or even a week or so, before we [...]

Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd should, can, and must discuss modal verbs. Howard gives a shoutout to Henrik Hansen and to the Danish language-related podcast Sproghjørnet. (2:17) Howard and Dave give an overview of auxiliary verbs, of which modal verbs are a subset. (3:17) Music bumper from “Just Looking,” by The Jerrys (9:32) Modal verbs and grammatical mood (10:11) Song: [...]

Barbara Shepherd and Dave Shepherd welcome the new year by talking about resolutions and promises. Dave announces the repair of our feed problem and reads listener email regarding Eilzüge. (2:20) Dave and Barbara talk about the nature and timing of New Year’s resolutions and promises. (4:32) Music bumper from “The New Year,” by Love = Action (11:58) How people [...]

Howard Chang and Dave Shepherd are in a massive hurry to talk about speed. Dave responds to feedback (2:08) Jesse Thorn of The Sound of Young America sent us a copy of Sky Maul: Happy Crap You Can Buy From a Plane, by Kasper Hauser. Voicemail from Kristin of The Manic Mommies Our forum is now spam-free! Come talk [...]

The vast majority of you are using iTunes as your podcast receiving software. I use it myself. Unfortunately, there is a deep disconnect between iTunes and our web server. iTunes cannot see our feed, and so gives an error message when you try to get a show. (Or more accurately stated, our server redirects our feed [...]

Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd look over, under, around, and through prepositions. Dave responds to a post by SimonW11 from the Word Nerds Forum about an eggcorn; talks about why our blog has looked different; and explains Howard’s current absence from the USA. (Howard visited Annik Rubens of Schlaflos in München while in Munich.) (2:03) Howard and [...]

For some reason, the customized look I created in the navigation column of our blog (that area over there to the right) keeps getting deleted somehow. I haven’t yet figured it out; I will need to take several hours (when I have free time) and go onto the WordPress and K2 fora and do some [...]

Dave Shepherd explores the linguistic workings of thanks and gratitude. Listeners respond with voicemails and emails. We thank you for your participation. (2:02) Thanks and thanksgiving (7:30) Song: “Thank you,” by All Mighty Whispers (15:24) Rude word of the week: “ingrate” (18:24) Music bumper from “Tonight” by Zach Ashton (20:34) How gratitude is different from thanks (20:55) Music courtesy of The [...]

Howard Shepherd and Dave Shepherd get their game faces on as they talk about the language of sports. The vocabulary of sport: rule-based terms and slang terms (1:58) Music bumper from “Natural Man,” by Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials (21:36) How sports language functions (22:03) Song: “Sitting Around Keeping Score,” by Spymob (26:11) Rude word of the week: “palooka” [...]

Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang talk about derivatives–words that come from other words and how we came to love them. The derivation of “derivative” (2:42) How we became infatuated with derivatives (5:17) Music bumper from “Court of Greedy Kings,” by Val Davis (11:07) Word Power through derivatives (”plant that seed, watch it grow”) (11:23) Song: “Carbon Copy” by Sister Machine [...]

If you are just subscribed to The Word Nerds in a podcatching client, you won’t even see this message. If you log into the Word Nerds Forum, you’ll see it there, in the forum about the podcast. But if you come to our blog, or else look at TWN through a directory that picks up the [...]

Dave Shepherd announces a change in frequency of the publication of The Word Nerds. (1:56) News from the podcasting world (4:20) Annik Rubens suspends Schlaflos in München Apple issues cease and desist letters against companies using “podcast” in their name. Voicemail from a new listener (7:39) Song: “Day to Day,” by The Numbers (9:07) Rude word of the week: “spaz” (12:25) Music [...]

Howard Shepherd talks about his favorite summer reading book–Special Topics in Calamity Physics, a first novel by his former student Marisha Pessl. (2:47) Reasons for equivocating (4:37) Music bumper from “Ockham’s Shaving Kit,” by George Hrab (14:46) Verbal and lingual ways of equivocating (15:27) Song: “Maybe I’ll Wait,” by Robin Welty (21:36) Rude word of the week: “weasel” (25:16) Music [...]

Dave Shepherd, Barbara Shepherd, and Howard Chang talk about their summer reading. (2:14) Dave’s recent favorites: The Word Nerds Discussion forum Online fora related to magic The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini Baseball as America, by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Dai Vernon: A Biography, by David Ben The Secret Art of Magic, by Eric Evans and Nowlin Craver Barbara’s [...]

Dave Shepherd announces a summer vacation for and from The Word Nerds. The show will return with new editions on September 9. (This is take 2 of this program. Take 1 was done using Übercaster, but Dave hasn’t yet learned all the ins and outs of that new Macintosh podcasting software. You’re not imagining things: there [...]

Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, and Howard Chang talk about endings–of conversations, relationships, jobs, etc. (NOT of podcasts; we are not leaving!) Linguistic cues for endings (1:56) Music bumper from “My Living Will,” by The Finale (10:05) Non-verbal and non-oral cues: body language, “the thin envelope” (10:50) Song: “Last to Leave,” by Hot Rod Cadets (17:49) Rude word of the week: [...]

Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, and Howard Chang ponder a plethora of orotund expressions. That means they are talking about extravagant ways of expressing yourself. (Thanks to Michael Buchko for the topic suggestion.) What we mean by fustian language: pompous, bombastic ways of saying very little by using a lot of syllables; some quotations from fustian speakers [...]

Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, and Howard Chang talk about jokes and humor. (What a bunch of chuckleheads!) The philosophical underpinnings of humor (2:01) Music bumper from by “The Corner of Sacco and Vanzetti” by Shibboleth (11:20) Categories of humor (11:57) Song: “Inside Joke,” by Little Thom (22:51) Rude word of the week: “bombing” (or shall we say, this segment is [...]

Dave Shepherd, Howard Shepherd, and Howard Chang discuss the rules, etiquette, and media of everyday conversations. Various ways the Word Nerds audience can converse with us, and with each other (1:59) Face-to-face conversation (4:59) Music bumper from by “Conversations” by Saurab Bhargava (14:43) Conversing on the telephone (15:21) Song: “Cool Conversation,” by Dminor (20:51) Rude word of the week: “loudmouth” (25:13) Music [...]

Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang talk about failure and success, having recently seen many students succeed (and some fail) at the end of the school year. Metaphors for success and failure in sports (3:46) Success and failure in school (11:06) Music bumper from “Loser Blues” by Electrobuddha (19:46) Euphemisms for losing (20:24) Song: “Nothing to Lose,” by Clip (26:07) Rude word [...]

Dave Shepherd and Howard Shepherd try not to run their words together as they discuss slurring and elision in spoken language. Responses to listener emails. Howard was recently a guest on EatFeed. (1:51) Dysarthria: pathological elision (9:47) Elision as an agent of language change: “everyday” elision and “expedient” elision (11:24) Music bumper from by “Telepop” by The Jerrys (17:47) Elision [...]

If you look up at the header of this site, you will see a new link to “Forum.” The long-promised phpBB forum has been installed and configured, and awaits your input. Please feel free to register and post to your heart’s content. This is not something to use instead of the comment threads on this blog site, [...]

Dave and Barbara Shepherd explore the language of wine. Recently, along with Julie and Mark of Washington TravelCast, they toured some Virginia wineries. (Website photos by Dave) How to talk about the qualities of wine (3:50) Interviews: John Fitter of Piedmont Vineyards and Winery and Rick Tagg of Pearmund Cellars talk about how they describe wine. (4:33) Music [...]

Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang discuss greetings and partings at the end of the school year, when they must say good-bye to a lot of people. The functions of greetings and partings (1:50) Music bumper from by “Goodbye, Good Luck, Good Riddance” by The Joel Lightman Band (18:26) Idioms of greeting and parting (19:03) Song: “Turn Around and Say [...]

Dave Shepherd and Howard Shepherd discuss hyperbole and exaggeration. (It’s the best podcast ever!) Dave talks a bit about our changeover to our new blog site (1:51) Howard and Dave explore the etymologies of “hyperbole” and “exaggeration” and discuss why speakers tend to exaggerate. (4:01) Comic uses of hyperbole (10:45) Music bumper from by “Bongo Booty” by Vincent [...]

Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang try to recall why they settled on the topic of Memory and Language. (2:11) Storytelling (4:19) Music bumper from “Remember” by Bob Kirkpatrick (10:40) Attribution of words (11:25) Song: “Future Memory,” by Heth and Jed (17:21) Rude word of the week: “special” (21:11) Music bumper from “She Hates Love Songs by Katie Davis (25:05) Memory loss (25:33) Do [...]

Well, folks, as you can see, the blog has moved. Yes, the navigation sidebar is incredibly ugly. My main concern this week has been to make sure the podcast feed and blog page were all functioning. They seem to be. I will try to clean up the sidebar and links in the next several days, as soon [...]

Dave Shepherd announces changes to The Word Nerds’ blog and feed, which will take place this weekend. The web address for The Word Nerds will remain thewordnerds.org, and the feed address will stay thewordnerds.org/rss. [EDIT: The very best way to subscribe is to use thewordnerds.org/feed. If you are already subscribed using /rss, it will work, but [...]

Dave Shepherd welcomes back the North Carolina Nerd, Howard Shepherd, who is home from his travels to Denmark. Dave and Howard respond to several voicemails and emails about ePrime and puns. (1:55) Howard shares his memories of his trip with his students to Hobro Gymnasium in Denmark. (8:53) Revisiting our show on Insidious Idioms, we explain our [...]