Returning as the primary hosts of Lexicon Valley, Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield speak to John McWhorter about understatement and hyperbole in Black English. Twitter: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

Mike Vuolo and Bob Garfield interview Richard Tofel on his book Sound the Trumpet: The Making of John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, revealing the startling authorship behind JFK’s most famous words in this long unavailable episode from our archive. Twitter: @lexiconvalleyFacebook: facebook.com/LexiconValleyWebsite: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

What did English sound like during the Revolutionary War? John has a number of fascinating observations about the way the language was spoken back then — including the accents! Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

Over isn’t just the opposite of under and off is not necessarily the opposite of on. John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

John talks about the subject of his new book by Avery Publishing — Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

The Thai words for fire, die and rim sound an awful lot like the English words fire, die and rim. Why is that? John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

Words like thence and thither are all but obsolete in English, but they were actually quite useful! John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

Do you know the difference between a rabbit and a hare? And what then is a bunny? Follow John through the etymological warrens of these several words. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

It may seem apparent how we got from busyness to business, but the origins of the word “busy” itself are shrouded in mystery. John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

As a daily listener to WNYC Public Radio in New York City, John has noticed that a certain announcer frequently mispronounces words on air. He has thoughts. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

Working backwards from existing languages, linguists have had great success reconstructing Proto-Indo-European. Does that mean we can do the same for all language families? John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

A cyclone came through and blew off most of English’s clothes, says John, in Part II of his discussion of Indo-European. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

There are at least five defining features among hundreds of related languages from English to Hindi to Russian. And what does any of that have to do with the Hittites? John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

The simple verb to go quickly gets complex in just about any language and English is no exception. John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

What does the bat in “acrobat” have to do with the word come? John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

Reflexive pronouns are redundant in a way, sure, but they’re also quite common in many languages. John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

There’s good reason to believe that sophisticated speech began long before homo sapiens hit the scene. John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

Does Ayesha Rascoe have a good radio voice? Not according to many NPR listeners, who find her loud, high-pitched and generally grating. John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

A recent study suggests that a new dialect is emerging in the southern part of Florida. John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley

The trial transcript of a 225-year-old murder is filled with fascinating evidence of the way we used to talk. John explains. Twitter: @lexiconvalley Facebook: facebook.com/LexiconValley Website: booksmartstudios.com/LexiconValley