Geoffrey Nunberg

Linguist Geoff Nunberg comments on the history of slang, and refers to two books about it: Johnathan Lighter's Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang (1994) and "Flappers 2 Rappers" by Tom Dalzell (1997).

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg reflects on our use of the term "postmodern" to describe everything from art to architecture. But Nunberg wonders when exactly modernism began and ended.

As the Ebonics controversy continues into its second month, linguist Geoff Nunberg comments on standard English.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg looks at the current debate surrounding black vernacular in school, which the Oakland school board has dubbed "Ebonics."

Linguist Geoff Nunberg talks about corporate language.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg looks at how email technology is altering the way we write letters.

Fresh Air linguist Geoff Nunberg talks with Terry about the new collection of essays he's edited, "The Future of the Book," about how new technologies are affecting the future of printed books.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg looks at how Americans use the word "rich." In this election year, it's been deployed extensively by the two major presidential candidates. Nunberg looks at the origin of the word and why some well-to-do Americans don't like the label.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg compares the different ways France and the U.S. covered the Olympics -- and what they say about these countries' attitudes toward their respective languages.

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg has completed a computer-generated summary of a large number of Republican convention speeches delivered this week. The software analyzed the frequency of key words and recurring themes and produced a five sentence platform for the party.