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Geoffrey Nunberg

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06:35

When the Unspeakable Isn't, Quite

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?

Commentary
05:27

The Language Changes with 'Time'

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.

Commentary
06:10

The Impersonal Valentine

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?

Commentary
06:04

False Apologies

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

Commentary
06:05

Linguistic Nonsense.

The 2006 award season is drawing to a close and linguist Geoff Nunberg gets in just under the wire with the announcement of the first annual Becky award, bestowed by a group of linguists.

Commentary
06:56

Candidates for Word of the Year

The end of the year brings with it "word of the year" designations from professional societies and dictionaries. Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers some of the words that made headlines this past year, including some newsmaking racial epithets.

Commentary
05:37

The Substance of a Label

The election results didn't just reshuffle the Congress -- they also got people debating the meanings of the labels people use to map out the political spectrum. Our linguist Geoff Nunberg has been thinking about what's in a label.

Commentary
05:43

Docudrama's Fine Line Between Truth and Fiction

How do you draw the line between dramatic license and historical accuracy? That was the essence of the controversy over the recent ABC docudrama The Path to 9/11, just as it was a few years ago with the CBS miniseries that put words in Ronald Reagan's mouth that he never uttered. Docudrama may be a new word, but it raises old questions about truth and fiction.

Commentary

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