Geoffrey Nunberg

Fresh Air's contributing linguist remembers a rhetorician whose larger-than-life language helped shape a movement and a nation.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg offers up a few thoughts on the use of a certain C-word in current electoral rhetoric. That word is "change" and it's what all the candidates are promising. But what does it really mean?

Fresh Air's resident linguist considers how we use the words "civility" and "incivility."

Our contributing linguist has some thoughts on the use of sarcasm in American English.

An appeals court ruled recently that the FCC couldn't fine the Fox network for indecency for broadcasting a "fleeting expletive" during an awards show. What does the ruling mean — and what qualifies as a "fleeting expletive" these days, anyway?

Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, is designed to take advantage of "the wisdom of crowds," meaning anyone can edit (and re-edit) the entries. The open-source approach brings with it a unique set of strengths — and limitations.

The flap over Don Imus' characterization of the Rutgers women's basketball team and his subsequent firing has linguist Geoff Nunberg thinking about how we make distinctions in language. Is offensive speech always unacceptable, or are there shades of difference depending on the context?

As Time magazine reinvents itself for the Internet age, the editors announced they'd be dropping some old features of the magazine's distinctive verbal style. There was once an age when Time's style helped remake journalism — and the English language itself.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the sending of Valentine's messages via telephone, the postal system, and e-mail. What does it say about the evolution of personal communication?

A linguistic perspective on when an apology is not an apology.