Word Of Mouth

3/8. A Chip off the Old Block.

Wood and wood working have provided us with some of our most useful and frequently used idioms. Michael Rosen and guests talk timber. Plus, best selling author Ben Schott rejoices in the romantic language of falconry.

Then News.

Michael Rosen presents the series on words, language and the way we speak.

Michael Rosen presents the programme about the way we speak. He launches a new competition, called Like a Hole in the Head. [Rpt of Tue 4.00pm]

Michael Rosen is back with a special edition of the programme that opens the door on words, language, and the way we speak. This week his linguistic investigations involve music, poetry, plain English and beekeeping.

Recorded at the Cheltenham Festival of Literature.

Rpt of Fri, 4.00pm] Then News

The programme includes an interview with the actor, director, writer and former Monty Python, Terry Jones; listeners questions answered by etymologist Michael Quinion and linguist Lynda Mugglestone; and a column from Miles Kington.

The programme includes an interview with the actor, director, writer and former Monty Python, Terry Jones; listeners questions answered by etymologist Michael Quinion and linguist Lynda Mugglestone; and a column from Miles Kington.

Then News.

Michael Rosen with the series which takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them. [Rpt of Fri 4.00 pm] News follows.

Then News.

Word of Mouth links up with BBC Voices to bring you the Bulls of Gravesend, a Romany family who were recorded revealing the secrets of the language they use. There are also two explanations for the word pikey, and why gorgios - the term they use for us - is meant with no disrespect.

On the same theme, Gerry Anderson reports back to Michael from the world of hobos in the US. Also, the WOMBAC competition for the best acronym continues to draw attention from listeners with GSOH.

Word of Mouth links up with BBC Voices to bring you the Bull's of Gravesend, a Romany family who were recorded revealing the secrets of the language they use. There are also two explanations for the word pikey, and why gorgios - the term they use for us - is meant with no disrespect.

On the same theme Gerry Anderson reports back to Michael from the world of hobos in the US. Also, the WOMBAC competition for the best acronym continues to draw attention from listeners with GSOH.

Then News.

Michael Rosen presents the programme about the way we speak. He launches a new competition, called Like a Hole in the Head. [Rpt of Tue 4.00pm]

He also hears from Humanist, Muslim and Christian speakers about how religious language is updated and made accessible to all.

In a special Easter edition, MICHAEL ROSEN considers the unique contribution of the King James Bible to the richness of the English language. He also hears from Humanist, Muslim and Christian speakers about how religious language is updated and made accessible to all.

Then News.

Then News.

Michael Rosen presents the programme about the way we speak. [Rptd Sun 8.30pm]

Michael Rosen presents the programme about the way we speak. [Rptd Sun 8.30pm]

Michael Rosen presents the programme about the way we speak. [Rptd Sun 8.30pm]

In a Science Fiction special, Michael Rosen takes a crash course in Klingon, hears from a comic book novelist, and learns the art of talking to aliens. [Rptd Sun 8.30pm]

In a Science Fiction special, Michael Rosen takes a crash course in Klingon, hears from a comic book novelist, and learns the art of talking to aliens. [Rpt of Tue 4.00pm]

In a Science Fiction special, MICHAEL ROSEN takes a crash course in Klingon, hears from a comic book novelist, and learns the art of talking to aliens. [Rpt of Tue 4.00pm] Then News.

Michael Rosen with the series which takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them. [Rpt of Tue 4.00pm]

Michael Rosen presents the programme about the way we speak. [Rpt of Tue 4.00pm]

He is joined by Craig Brown to launch a new competition in search of 21st-Century Proverbs. The programme looks at military terms such as yomping, bennies and tabbing, which became more widely used during the Falklands conflict 25 years ago.

This special edition comes from America and features Seattle-based lexophile Anu Garg, a pundit poet known as Sparrow, a woman who has used a computer programme to study Jane Austen's use of words, and the organiser of the annual Festival of Punning in Austin, Texas.

[Rpt of Mon 11.00pm].

[Rptd Tue 4.00pm].

He visits Circomedia, the circus training school in Bristol, to learn about the special language used by clowns, jugglers and acrobats.

Lindsay Camp, who has written a book on the language of persuasion, has hints on how to get one's own way; Philipa Stephenson explores how to make people in photos look as though they are happy and Craig Brown chooses the winners of the competition to invent a proverb.

[Rpt of Mon 11.00pm].

[Rptd Tue 4.00pm].

Including stickability of words with Allan Metcalf, Steven Pinker and Fiona MacPherson, words in advertising with John Hegarty and football chants with Pete Boyle and Rogan Taylor.

Featuring Stuttering and Cluttering, with Rosemarie Hayhow; why should English be the dominant language of science, with Stefan Klein; and the language of meditation, with Vishvapani.

Graham Fraser, Dennis Baron, Chris Bryant, Rob Dunbar and Janet Muller discuss bilingualism.

Cricket correspondents Ian Robertson and Vic Marks talk about the effects of pitchside microphones.

Michael Rosen presents the series that takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them.

This special edition is devoted to children's nursey rhymes with Dan Jones.

Including word-based teaching in classrooms with Phil Davis from Picture the Music, The Partridge Dictionary of Slang with Terry Victor and Urban Dictionary creator Aaron Peckham, and how the Police name their operations with Dylan Winter.

Michael Rosen continues the series exploring the words we use.

Michael Rosen presents the series that takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them.

Incuding the changing language of the Queen with Jan Ravens, proverbs with Geoff Rolls, rebranding foods with Kate Colquhoun and island languages with Alice Buffet.

Including stickability of words with Allan Metcalf, Steven Pinker and Fiona MacPherson, words in advertising with John Hegarty and football chants with Pete Boyle and Rogan Taylor.

Michael Rosen presents the series that takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them.

1/8. He examines the concept of bad language - why we swear, what makes a particular word taboo in polite company and why swearing is on the increase among young people.

Michael Rosen presents the series that takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them.

2/8. He investigates why we sometimes find it hard to say what we mean or mean what we say.

Peggy Reynolds presents the series that takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them (3/8).

John Lloyd presents the series that takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them.

Michael Rosen presents the series that takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them.

Michael Rosen presents the series that takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them.

Michael Rosen presents the series that takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them.

Michael Rosen presents the series that takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them.

He examines the concept of bad language - why we swear, what makes a particular word taboo in polite company and why swearing is on the increase among young people.

2/8. He investigates why we sometimes find it hard to say what we mean or mean what we say.

Michael Rosen takes another journey into the world of words, language and the way we speak. He looks at the language of apologies and insults. Guests are Quentin Letts and Janey Godley. American academic Nick Smith explains why he believes that many apologies are simply lies.

She investigates vocal pitch. Is it true that to get on the radio a woman has to sound like a man? Why is it that, according to scientists, attractive women have attractive voices? And why is there such a difference in intonation between women of different nationalities?

Peggy Reynolds investigates vocal pitch.

She investigates vocal pitch. Is it true that to get on the radio a woman has to sound like a man? Why is it that, according to scientists, attractive women have attractive voices? And why is there such a difference in intonation between women of different nationalities?

Peggy Reynolds investigates the world of language guardians and explores the battles raging on the internet blogs that have superseded the letters once written to newspapers. And while we might ask for a hotel room with an 'en suite', the French would never use the phrase in that context. So which other French words and phases are we misusing?

Peggy Reynolds investigates the world of language guardians and explores the battles raging on the internet blogs that have superseded the letters once written to newspapers. And while we might ask for a hotel room with an 'en suite', the French would never use the phrase in that context. So which other French words and phases are we misusing?

Michael is joined by Leonard, an African Grey parrot, to talk about animal communication.

Another journey into the world of words, language and the way we speak. Michael Rosen hears how singing might make it easier to learn a second language.

Michael also considers the politics of spelling and why computer spell-checkers do not seem to help people with dyslexia.

Michael Rosen on spelling, which is again becoming synonymous with having a good education

Synopsis

Everyone accepts that it is important for parents to read to their children, but, thanks partly to school literacy targets, many children actually spend more time reading to their parents. Furthermore, some parents suffer from 'performance anxiety' over their inability to 'do the voices' in stories, so, in these cases, what can be done to help keep storytelling alive?

What can be done to help keep storytelling alive between parents and children?

Synopsis

Where did the word 'jazz' come from? What exactly is 'garage', and how has the meaning of R&B changed so dramatically?

We go to a recording studio to sit in with a band in session, and hear how they communicate their ideas. Chris also talks to Norman Lebrecht about the art of describing classical music.

Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, author of This is Your Brain on Music, talks about his years as a record producer, working with Stevie Wonder and Carlos Santana - who wanted his guitar to sound 'more orange'.

Chris Ledgard explores the words we use to talk about music.

What are 'acid house' and 'grime', and how did the terms come about? The word 'jazz', too, carries an illuminating and largely unknown story.

And how do artists feel about the categories to which they are assigned in music stores, on radio stations and on the web?

CHRIS LEDGARD explores the words we use to talk about music. What are 'acid house' and 'grime', and how did the terms come about? The word 'jazz', too, carries an illuminating and largely unknown story. And how do artists feel about the categories to which they are assigned in music stores, on radio stations and on the web?

Chris is put into an altered state of consciousness by the soothing words of a hypnotherapist, to find out what kind of words are used to do this and how.

Some in the medical profession are calling for hypnosis to be used for pain relief during medical procedures such as bone marrow transplantation and cancer treatment.

They say that as hypnosis has no side effects it makes the operation quicker, the recovery faster and the cost less than with the use conventional anaesthetic.

But does it really work, and if so, how? Chris talks to the scientists currently working on a systematic review to find out.

Can talk also be used to control and manipulate us into doing things that we would otherwise not do? Stories of people being indoctrinated into cults usually involve descriptions of brainwashing, corruption and manipulation.

But are words really powerful enough to control the mind? Chris talks to an ex-cult member turned rhetorical theorist about how language is used.

Chris is put into an altered state of consciousness by the soothing words of a hypnotherapist, to find out what kind of words are used to do this and how. Some in the medical profession are calling for hypnosis to be used for pain relief during medical procedures such as bone marrow transplantation and cancer treatment. They say that as hypnosis has no side effects it makes the operation quicker, the recovery faster and the cost less than with the use conventional anaesthetic. But does it really work, and if so, how? Chris talks to the scientists currently working on a systematic review to find out.

Can talk also be used to control and manipulate us into doing things that we would otherwise not do? Stories of people being indoctrinated into cults usually involve descriptions of brainwashing, corruption and manipulation. But are words really powerful enough to control the mind? Chris talks to an ex-cult member turned rhetorical theorist about how language is used.

The programme visits a group of Asian women at home to hear about all the languages they speak, and how they manage to switch effortlessly between them.

We talk to the professor who is leading research into the idea that the actual structure of our language makes a difference to the way we think.

And we hear from an Australian expert who believes that the difficulty of the English system of numbers puts English-speaking children at a disadvantage when it comes to learning to count.

Chris Ledgard looks at research showing we really are different when it comes to languages

The programme visits a group of Asian women at home to hear about all the languages they speak, and how they manage to switch effortlessly between them. We talk to the professor who is leading research into the idea that the actual structure of our language makes a difference to the way we think.

Chris Ledgard looks at new research showing that we really are different when it comes to languages.

Giving a presentation' has become an ordeal that many people dread. But why has this business practice spread into so many parts of modern life, from primary school to the armed forces? And does the pre-eminent presentation software package, PowerPoint, force us to think and speak in certain ways?

Why has 'giving a presentation' spread into so many parts of modern life.

Chris Ledgard discovers the rules of conversational engagement for everyday encounters.

Chris Ledgard talks to the founder of The Plain English Campaign.

Also, political journalist Anne McElvoy tells of her lingustic adventures in East Germany both before and after 1989, and Dr Zoran Milutinovic examines how Serbo-Croat has changed since the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.

Michael Rosen and playwright David Edgar on the rise and fall of the communist 'dialect'.

George Orwell left us a set of rules for writing about politics and public affairs - do they still apply? Michael Rosen and a panel of critics offer an Orwellian perspective on just one day in the discourse of the nation.

After he puts them back together, they don't seem to work very well.

MICHAEL ROSEN takes apart some jokes to try to find out why they're funny. After he puts them back together, they don't seem to work very well.

'Michael Rosen takes another journey into the world of words, language and the way we speak'

Michael Rosen investigates lying. Does our voice change when we are trying to deceive?

Does the sound of our voice change when we are trying to deceive, and do we use different words?

Michael Rosen investigates lying. Does the sound of our voice change when we are trying to deceive, and do we use different words?

He asks why some people take a strong dislike to adjectives and adverbs, and wonders whether, as Reader's Digest says, it really does pay to enrich your word power.

(Or should that be Readers' Digest?).

Why do people always want to improve your English? MICHAEL ROSEN investigates the phenomenom of the style guide and asks whether all the advice that's given is helpful or accurate. He asks why some people take a strong dislike to adjectives and adverbs, and wonders whether, as Reader's Digest says, it really does pay to enrich your word power. (Or should that be Readers' Digest?).

Why do people always want to improve your English? MICHAEL ROSEN investigates the phenomenon of the style guide and asks whether all the advice that's given is helpful or accurate. He asks why some people take a strong dislike to adjectives and adverbs, and wonders whether, as Reader's Digest says, it really does pay to enrich your word power. (Or should that be Readers' Digest?).

MICHAEL ROSEN investigates the language of the natural world.

He hears the American actor Kerry Shale dubbing over Peter Kay's voice for a cartoon about to be exported to the States.

He talks to the people who produce the messages that we hear when we 'phone our banks.

He asks a voiceover talent agent (whose own voice people who watch The Weakest Link will recognise) about the changes that have occurred in the industry over the years and he explores what it is that makes a particular voice grab our attention.

Producer Sarah Langan.

CHRIS LEDGARD goes to Soho to meet the people that work in voiceoverland. He hears the American actor KERRY SHALE dubbing over Peter Kay's voice for a cartoon about to be exported to the States. He talks to the people who produce the messages that we hear when we 'phone our banks. He asks a voiceover talent agent (whose own voice people who watch The Weakest Link will recognise) about the changes that have occurred in the industry over the years and he explores what it is that makes a particular voice grab our attention.

Will the Chinese language be affected by the growing influence of English? Pinyin is the Chinese method of writing Chinese characters in the latin alphabet.

It produces a simplified version of Chinese for children to learn, and is also used for texting, slang and to make it possible to type on a keyboard.

It can be used to evade the censors.

It also helps the rest of the world to understand Chinese words.

Beijing is a pinyin word, for example.

Will the use of Chinese characters eventually die out as the influence of English is felt there? Has globalisation affected the way Chinese is spoken and written in China? And we hear about the language war raging in Singapore, the only country in Asia with English as its first language, between standard English and Singlish, the local variant.

Contributors include William Zhou, Pinyin Joe- Joe Katz, Victor Mair and Singaporean blogger extraordinaire mr brown, aka Lee Kin Mun.

Looking at the Chinese and English languages, and the meeting point between the two.

Will the Chinese language be affected by the growing influence of English? Pinyin is the Chinese method of writing Chinese characters in our alphabet.

Will the use of Chinese characters eventually die out as the influence of pinyin and English is felt there? And we hear about the language war raging in Singapore, the only country in Asia with English as its first language, between standard English and Singlish, the local variant.

Contributors include William Zhou, Chen Cathy Liu,Pinyin Joe- Joe Katz, Victor Mair and Singaporean podcaster extraordinaire mr brown, aka Kin Mun Lee.

CHRIS LEDGARD looks at the Chinese and English languages, and the meeting point between the two. Will the Chinese language be affected by the growing influence of English? Pinyin is the Chinese method of writing Chinese characters in our alphabet. It produces a simplified version of Chinese for children to learn, and is also used for texting, slang and to make it possible to type on a keyboard. It also helps the rest of the world to understand Chinese words. Beijing is a pinyin word, for example. Will the use of Chinese characters eventually die out as the influence of pinyin and English is felt there? And we hear about the language war raging in Singapore, the only country in Asia with English as its first language, between standard English and Singlish, the local variant. Contributors include William Zhou, Chen Cathy Liu,Pinyin Joe- Joe Katz, Victor Mair and Singaporean podcaster extraordinaire mr brown, aka Kin Mun Lee.

CHRIS LEDGARD looks at the Chinese and English languages, and the meeting point between the two. Will the Chinese language be affected by the growing influence of English? Pinyin is the Chinese method of writing Chinese characters in the latin alphabet. It produces a simplified version of Chinese for children to learn, and is also used for texting, slang and to make it possible to type on a keyboard. It can be used to evade the censors. It also helps the rest of the world to understand Chinese words. Beijing is a pinyin word, for example.

Will the use of Chinese characters eventually die out as the influence of English is felt there? Has globalisation affected the way Chinese is spoken and written in China? And we hear about the language war raging in Singapore, the only country in Asia with English as its first language, between standard English and Singlish, the local variant. Contributors include William Zhou, Pinyin Joe- Joe Katz, Victor Mair and Singaporean blogger extraordinaire mr brown, aka Lee Kin Mun.

With Victoria Wright, FRANCESCA MARTINEZ and Colin Barnes. Also Louise Wallis and Jackie Ryan from the campaign against the R-word.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

MICHAEL ROSEN on the language used by and about disabled people, and the modern trend in humour of using disability to produce laughs. With Victoria Wright, FRANCESCA MARTINEZ and Colin Barnes.

Michael Rosen looks at the words used to describe flavour and taste.

This week, the language of football.

As the World Cup approaches, has football chatter become more important than the sport itself?

Produced by Beatrice Fenton.

MICHAEL ROSEN explores the language of football.

MICHAEL ROSEN on the world of words and the way we use them. This week, the language of football. As the World Cup approaches, has football chatter become more important than the sport itself?

Michael Rosen on the world of words and the way we use them. This week, the language of football. As the World Cup approaches, has football chatter become more important than the sport itself?

Produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Michael Rosen begins a new series by exploring the British Library's first ever exhibition on the history of English. The exhibition is called 'Evolving English', and Michael's guests include David Crystal, the author of the book of the same name. Comics, adverts, text messages and trading records have all been used by the British Library to chart the development of English from a language spoken on a small island to the global language we know today. The curators explain how they chose the exhibits, including the earliest surviving copy of Beowulf, the King James Bible, and the poem 'Essay to Miss Catharine Jay', which contains the phrase 'I wrote 2 U B 4', printed well over a hundred years before the advent of text messaging.

Michael Rosen explores the first history of English exhibition at the British Library.

Christmas is over and now the TV ads are all about holidays. Michael Rosen considers the language of travel and tourism.

At the World Travel Market he collects the adjectives that are used to sell holidays, then discusses them with a professor of linguistics who specialises in the subject. Travel journalist Simon Calder adds some travel trade jargon.

Producer: Peter Everett.

In January 1961 in New York's Greenwich Village, Bob Dylan was beginning a career that would revolutionise song-writing. Michael Rosen lends an ear to the last fifty years of the song-lyric.

Dylanologist Michael Gray explains why Bob matters. A sceptical David Quantick argues that Dylan's influence was not entirely helpful to rock music. And singer-songwriter KT Tunstall pays tribute to one of her biggest influences.

Producer: Peter Everett.

In 1861, Johann P. Reis announced that he'd invented the microphone. To celebrate 150 noisy years, Michael Rosen is joined by John Liffen, Curator of Communications at the Science Museum, the social historian, Clare Langhamer, and 'digital futurologist', Peter Cochrane.

Steve Punt, meanwhile, reports from an alternative universe where the microphone was never invented.

Producer: Peter Everett.

Michael Rosen celebrates the life of the microphone.

We have thousands of words that mean 'I approve' and thousands more that mean 'I disapprove'. Michael Rosen sets out to discover why we need so many.

Producer: Peter Everett.

Michael Rosen explores the world of language and communication.

Between the newspaper reporter and the readers sits a shadowy figure - the sub-editor. It's the sub who thinks up the punning headline and crafts the catchy intro. Michael Rosen joins the 'back bench' as the presses get ready to roll.

Producer: Peter Everett.

Michael Rosen explores the world of language and communication.

Michael Rosen visits the newsroom of 'The Sun' to meet the sub-editors, who are widely regarded as some of the most skilled and creative wordsmiths in the newspaper business. He investigates puns, euphemisms, splash-headlines, intros and page-three captions. He looks at the newsroom jargon, from back-benches to sub-decks. And he discovers - among other things - that 'romps' are the new 'nookie'.

We do it at college, at work, and even in pursuit of happiness. But what are the rules of engagement for an interview? Michael Rosen finds out how to get into university; how to keep your job or get a better one, and how to impress the love of your life.

Getting a place at university is more competitive than ever. So just how level is the university playing field? Does the process reward the most intelligent or the most articulate? And are the skills developed for the college interview ones that will come in handy later on....down the pub?

Producer: John Byrne.

Michael Rosen takes a look at the history and usefulness of the mysterious art of shorthand, with a look at its uses in Ancient Rome, Elizabethan England and the present day. There's a trip to Bath to hear from Sir Isaac Pitman himself, recorded in 1891, and a visit to the University of Sheffield's Journalism department.

Producer Luke Hollands.

The ups and downs of the banking world have moved from the financial news to the front pages. We are, we're told, witnessing momentous events with far-reaching consequences. But how well do we understand the language of global economic turmoil? Does financial jargon explain or obscure the picture? Michael Rosen talks to money makers, anti-capitalists and commentators.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

Michael Rosen and guests celebrate nonsense at Radio 4's More Than Words Festival.

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brand-b006qtnz.jpg' alt='' />'As the 100-day countdown to the Olympics begins, Chris Ledgard examines how trademark law can control the language of the games, and asks if word use can ever be effectively contained and controlled. He meets historians charting usage of the term 'olympic' over centuWorld Class Brass'

As the 100-day countdown to the Olympics begins, Chris Ledgard examines how trademark law can control the language of the games, and asks if word use can ever be effectively contained and controlled. He meets historians charting usage of the term 'olympic' over centuries; talks to comedy producer Jon Plowman about the BBC mockumentary 'Twenty Twelve', and discovers that one American university wants some words banned altogether.

Chris Ledgard examines how trademark law can control the language of the Olympic games.

Beginning with bar staff in Cardiff who use earplugs on a busy night, Chris discovers that we humans are surprisingly adept at grabbing small lumps of speech and filling in the gaps. He also discovers how room acoustics contribute to what scientists call the cocktail party problem; asks if exposure to aircraft noise can affect schooling, and discovers how the right mood music can make a policemans life easier on a Saturday night in Brighton.

Chris Ledgard endures bars, clubs and flight paths to listen to speech through noise.

A sweet relief for some and painfully uncomfortable for others, silence can be one of the most powerful tools in speech.

From school classrooms to sports grounds, Michael Rosen investigates the times when staying silent can speak volumes.

From school classrooms to sports grounds, Michael Rosen investigates silence.

A sweet relief for some and painfully uncomfortable for others, silence can be one of the most powerful tools in speech. From school classrooms to sports grounds, Michael Rosen investigates the times when staying silent can speak volumes.

https://www.ted.com/talks/jamila_lyiscott_3_ways_to_speak_english?language=en

Produced by Beth O'Dea for BBC Audio Bristol

Dr Jamila Lyiscott describes to Michael Rosen the three ways in which she speaks English according to whether she's at home, at school or with friends. Her TED talk on the subject is one of the most-viewed language performances on the internet and is used in education. She self-describes as a trilingual orator and asks - who decides who is articulate?

Producer Beth O'Dea

Michael Rosen asks Julian Barratt and Steve Oram about creating a language without words.

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright ask Julian Barratt of The Mighty Boosh and director Steve Oram about inventing a language for their new film, which has no dialogue but instead uses a kind of ape language.. How do you communicate without words, and how have other films and TV programmes tackled the challenge? And what does this tell us about how language works?

Producer Beth O'Dea.

MICHAEL ROSEN & LAURA WRIGHT ask JULIAN BARRATT of The Mighty Boosh and director Steve Oram about inventing a language for their new film, which has no dialogue but instead uses a kind of ape language.. How do you communicate without words, and how have other films and TV programmes tackled the challenge? And what does this tell us about how language works?

He and Michael discuss the joy of flicking through a dictionary with friends vs the fast return of an online look-up, the history of dictionaries, and Grant's favourite area of language: sociolinguistics - 'where the rubber meets the road', as he puts it.

Producer: Ellie Richold

Lexicographer Grant Barrett on dictionaries.

Lexicographer Grant Barrett discusses the history and current state of dictionaries, including the joy of flicking through a dictionary vs the fast return of an online look-up.

A BBC Audio Bristol production. Produced by Becky Ripley.

Michael Rosen talks nonsense literature and made-up words with Noreen Masud.

Michael Rosen talks to Matt Sewell, author of 'A Charm of Goldfinches', about some of the more obscure examples that have made their way into common usage as collective nouns for creatures of the land, the sea and the air...

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley

Michael Rosen talks to Matt Sewell about collective nouns in the animal world.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Poet Nabeela Ahmed on being multilingual.

The Bradford poet Nabeela Ahmed talks about growing up with English, Urdu and Pahari.

[LISTEN NOW]

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

Chris Ledgard investigates academic English.

Chris Ledgard meets the academics doing stand-up comedy in a London pub; asks why foreign languages have to be so difficult, and discovers that jokes reach parts of the brain that other words cannot reach.

Michael Rosen asks Professor Devyani Sharma about the latest research into accent bias in the UK. Which are the highest and lowest rated accents, and why does it matter so much?

Produced by Beth O'Dea for BBC Audio in Bristol

More information on the work of the Accent Bias Britain project:

https://accentbiasbritain.org/

Michael Rosen asks Devyani Sharma about the latest research into accent bias in the UK.

Michael Rosen and art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon take a tour through the naming of art movements. Surrealism, Impressionism, the Renaissance, the Pre-Raphaelites, Modern, Contemporary - how did they get their names and what does that tell us? Which terms have entered the language? With linguist Dr Laura Wright.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

MICHAEL ROSEN and ANDREW GRAHAM-DIXON on the naming of art movements and what it tells us.

Michael Rosen talks to James Geary about his lifetime obsession, aphorisms. These short, witty philosophical sayings have been coined by everyone from Emily Dickinson and James Baldwin to Hallmark, and even Michael's mum.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven, in partnership with the Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen talks to James Geary about aphorisms, AKA literature's hand luggage

Michael Rosen talks to James Geary about his lifetime obsession, the short, witty philosophical sayings known as aphorisms.

[LISTEN NOW]

More and more people are finding themselves speaking multiple languages in our cross-cultural societies. But when we communicate in a different tongue, do we become a different person? From the decisions we make to the memories we form, research in neuroscience and psychology has begun exploring this fascinating area, which not only offers insights into the linguistic brain, but also calls into question if our ‘core self' is a as stable as we like to think it is -

Producer: Becky Ripley

Can speaking another language change your behaviour, your decisions, even your morals?

Michael Rosen talks to neuroscientst Julia Ravey about whether we think and act differently when speaking a non-native language. From the decisions we make to the morals we hold.

Michael Rosen examines the use of language analysis to judge asylum seekers' country of origin, when they've arrived in the UK with no documentation. Linguists can then be used to try and verify which country the person comes from, as they apply for refugee status.

With linguists Laura Wright and Peter Patrick, and Lars-Johan Lundberg of Verified, the Swedish company that the Government uses to carry out the analysis.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen on the use of language analysis to judge asylum seekers' country of origin.

Michael Rosen examines the use of language analysis to judge asylum seekers' country of origin, when they've arrived in the UK with no documentation. Linguists can then be used to try and verify which country the person comes from, as they apply for refugee status. With linguists Laura Wright and Peter Patrick, and Lars-Johan Lundberg of Verified, the Swedish company that the Government uses to carry out the analysis.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

As Scotland grapples with the wording of a possible referendum on independence, CHRIS LEDGARD takes a look at the art of asking the right question. Whether in a referendum, survey or in a court room, how do you avoid writing an incomprehensible question or - perhaps worse - a leading question?

Experts in linguistics, law, politics and psychology as well as politicians themselves explain the importance of getting the wording of a question right.

Contributors:

Pupils from St Katherine's School in North Somerset

Joan McAlpine, Scottish National Party MSP

Willie Rennie, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats

Professor John Curtice, University of Strathclyde

Professor John Joseph, University of Edinburgh

Amanda Pinto QC, Criminal Barrister

Professor Robert Cialdini, Arizona State University

Craig Ranapia, New Zealand based blogger and broadcaster

Producer: Polly Procter.

Michael Rosen looks at language and communication. This week we're talking baby talk, or 'Infant Directed Speech'. He asks if the cooing parentese is a natural phenomenon or is it simply a culturally learnt trait. Does it benefit or hinder language development, and do animals use it? Michael also discovers some interesting examples of baby talk in letters that Jonathan Swift wrote to two lady friends.

Michael Rosen asks if baby talk benefits or hinders language development.

We're surrounded by other people's conversations, and many of us try to block them out. But for Lavinia Greenlaw, David Calcutt and Craig Taylor, fragments of overheard talk have been a valuable source of material. In New York, Marilyn Horowitz recalls how a conversation at a neighbouring pub table helped her get over a case of writer's block.

Chris Ledgard presents.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

Four writers discuss how they are inspired by the words they overhear.

In a special edition of the programme Michael Rosen visits the front line of the linguistic war zone that is today's Belgium. The stand-off between French-speaking Walloons in the south of the country and the northern Flemings whose language is Dutch now threatens the future of Belgium as a nation state. Michael talks to linguist Jeanine Treffers-Daller to find out why the divisions run so deep.

We used to sign off letters using 'yours faithfully' or 'yours sincerely', then email came along and it was all 'kind regards' and 'best wishes'. Now, it seems, we hardly sign off at all. With so many forms of written communication- email, text, Twitter, What's App- what new etiquettes are emerging, and where are 'digital natives' simply getting it wrong? Emma Gannon is author of Ctrl, Alt, Delete: How I Grew Up Online, and hosts the podcast of the same name. Producer Sally Heaven.

Graham Fraser, Dennis Baron, Chris Bryant, Rob Dunbar and Janet Muller discuss bilingualism.

Cricket correspondents Ian Robertson and Vic Marks talk about the effects of pitchside microphones.

Michael Rosen continues the series exploring the words we use.

Producer Beth O'Dea. Photo copyright: Antonio Olmos

More about Jeffrey Boakye and JJ Bola:

Jeffrey Boakye is an author, commentator, writer and English teacher. He has a particular interest in issues surrounding education, race and popular culture.

Jeffrey, originally from Brixton in London, has taught English to 11- to 18-year-olds since 2007. ?He began teaching in West London, moved to East London where he was Head of English, and then moved on to Yorkshire where he now lives with his wife and two sons.

Jeffrey started writing his first book,?Hold Tight, in 2015 when cradling his first born son in the early hours. Hold Tight was published in 2017 and?is recognised as one of the first seminal books on grime music. He started writing his second book, Black, Listed, when cradling his second born son in the early hours. Published in 2019, Black, Listed was praised by David Lammy MP as ‘a book that gives a voice to those whose experience is persistently defined, refined and denied by others'. Jeffrey's third book, What is Masculinity?, a book for children on masculinity, broke with tradition and was not written when cradling a newborn son.

JJ Bola's website is jjbola.com, twitter: https://twitter.com/JJ_Bola, instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jj_bola and facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jjbola

You can listen to Jeffrey Boakye's conversation with Michael Rosen on Word of Mouth here:

https://www.BBC.co.uk/programmes/m0004l93

Jeffrey Boakye on the language of black masculinity in a post-colonial world.

The language of making and breaking relationships.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

Producer Beth O'Dea

Bear Markets and Beyond: A Bestiary of Business Terms is by Dhruti Shah and Dominic Bailey.

Michael Rosen asks why there are so many terms related to animals in the business world.

Michael Rosen talks to digital anthropologist Jennifer Cearns about the rise of AI companions- how do we talk to AI, and how does AI talk to us?

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven, in partnership with the Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen talks to Jennifer Cearns about the rise of AI companions.

[LISTEN NOW]

Cutting through the recent hype, she explains how chatbots do what they do, how they have become so fluent and why she thinks we should be careful with the terminology we employ when talking about them.

Presented by Michael Rosen and produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Ellie Richold.

Professor of computational linguistics Emily M Bender chats all things bot with Michael

Michael Rosen speaks to Dr Catherine Crockford of the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig - who studies chimp communication in Uganda's forests - and psycholinguist Martin Edwardes to assess whether the utterances of chimps constitute words, and whether their combination of them represents syntax and grammar. Michael also meets the actor Peter Elliott, whose career has been spent playing the parts of chimps in films. He even appears in Kanzi's favourite film, 'Greystoke', about the childhood of Tarzan.

Chimps communicate but, asks Michael Rosen, do their utterances mean they use language?

Michael Rosen tackles the language of chuggers and street vendors. Which words work best?

Producer Beth O'Dea

Related films: Dementia - The 'Communication Disease' and Understanding the Challenges of Dementia Communication here:

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC6kMlO8mkB09GNCLm1zbaHQ

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen compares the way we bring up children and train dogs.

Contributors:

Chris White, retired police hostage negotiator, now communications trainer

Matt Overd, Director of Programme Development - Dfuse

Barbara Bloomfield, Relate trainer and counsellor

Stephen Drew, Headteacher, Brentwood County High School

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen is joined by linguist Dr Catherine Laing to discuss onomatopoeia and other words that sound like their meanings. Not just words for sounds like 'crash' and 'bang', or words for animal noises like 'woof' and 'quack', but also other words which perhaps hold something of their meaning within their form. Is there something rough about the word 'rough'? Does 'smooth' feel smooth? And how can we play with this in everyday speech and in poetry?

Produced by Becky Ripley, in partnership with the Open University.

Michael Rosen and Dr Catherine Laing discuss words that sound like their meanings.

Michael Rosen and Dr Catherine Laing discuss onomatopoeia and other words that sound like their meanings. Produced by Becky Ripley.

[LISTEN NOW]

Contributors: Andrew Hilton, Founder & Artistic Director of Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory.

Helen Cross, author of radio plays, novels and screenplays. Her first novel, My Summer of Love, became a BAFTA award winning feature film.

Paul Dodgson, writer and director of radio dramas, and also a composer and teacher.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen talks to writers about how character is created through language.

David Adger is Professor of Linguistics at Queen Mary University of London. He's created new languages for TV series and films and he explains to Michael Rosen how he goes about it. For his latest language he used existing Creole languages for his 'conlang', or constructed (artificial) natural language. He talks Michael through the grammar and language principles he applies to his creations and lets him try his hand at the monsters' language he invented for a televised version of Beowulf.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Michael Rosen asks a linguist how he invents new languages for TV series and films.

Michael Rosen finds out from a linguist how he invents new languages for TV series and films.

[LISTEN NOW]

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright interview the eminent US linguist George Lakoff about the new political words coming out of the US right now, mainly from the alt-right, and the effectiveness of Trump's use of language. George Lakoff is the former Distinguished Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley. His thesis is that people's lives are significantly influenced by the central metaphors they use, whatever their political beliefs, and that how information is framed is crucial in how it is received.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

David Walliams talks to Michael Rosen about writing children's books.

Erica Dhawan is the author of Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance.

Produced by Beth O'Dea for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen uncovers how people talk and think about directions in different languages.

Just like new words, new idioms emerge in language all the time, and enter our vocabulary from TV, movies, sport, politics and the Internet. Michael Rosen talks to Gareth Carrol about the surprising origins of some of these modern idioms and why we pepper our speech with so much formulaic language.

Dr Gareth Carrol is Senior Lecturer in Psycholinguistics at the University of Birmingham and is the author of 'Jumping Sharks and Dropping Mics: Modern Idioms and Where They Come From'.

Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio

Michael Rosen talks to Dr Gareth Carrol about the surprising origins of modern idioms.

Simile and metaphor, comparision, classification, memory, humour, disgust - all of these help in the tricky but satisfying task of pinning down the unpindownable.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen asks Andi Oliver and Niki Segnit how they describe the flavours of food.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen talks to Oxfam's media officer on how we should speak about Ebola.

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright are joined by Professor Vyv Evans to talk all things emoji.

Producer: Mair Bosworth.

Is emoji really the world's fastest-growing language? Michael Rosen finds out.

We've all heard someone roll their eyes and say `the lady doth protest too much, me thinks` - or head back to their desk muttering `once more unto the breach!` Shakespeare had a way with words that makes his writing extremely relatable, even today. Ben and David Crystal tell Michael why so many of the bard's sayings have slipped into our everyday chat.

Producer: Alice McKee, BBC Audio Bristol

Are you quoting Shakespeare without even realising?

Colonel Chris Hadfield is a veteran of three spaceflights. He crewed the US space shuttle twice, piloted the Russian Soyuz, helped build space station Mir and served as Commander of the International Space Station.

Getting words and language right in as clear and a concise way is a matter of life and death for astronauts. Crews are traditionally made up of different nationalities and Russian is second to English on board. Chris Hadfield who flew several missions and captained the International Space Station talks about how astronauts communicate and the special language they use that he dubs NASA speak. He speaks several languages and lived in Russia for twenty years. As an author he has written several novels based on his experience in Space and as a fighter pilot the latest of which is The Defector. His books The Apollo Murders are being made into a series for TV. He tells Michael about the obligation he feels to share in words as best he can an experience that so few people have - of being in space and seeing Earth from afar.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

The Canadian former astronaut and author talks about communicating Space

Getting it right in as clear and a concise way is a matter of life and death for astronauts. Crews are traditionally made up of different nationalities and Russian is second to English on board. Chris Hadfield who flew several missions and captained the International Space Station talks about how astronauts communicate and the special language they use. He speaks several languages and lived in Russia for twenty years. As an author he has written several novels based on his experience in Space and as a fighter pilot. His books The Apollo Murders are being made into a series for TV. He gives Michael a lesson on the kind of words and code

The Canadian ex-astronaut and author talks about communicating from Space.

Michael shares listeners' stories about the words and phrases passed down in their families that they keep using, and what they mean to them. With Rob Drummond, Professor of Sociolinguistics at Manchester Met University, and author of You're All Talk: why we are what we speak.

Producer Beth O'Dea, BBC Audio Bristol

Michael shares listeners' stories about words and phrases passed down through families.

Michael shares listeners' stories about the significance of words and phrases passed down in their families. With Rob Drummond, author of You're All Talk: why we are what we speak.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Michael Bond talks to Michael Rosen about the ways in which fans talk to each other.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

[LISTEN NOW]

Have you ever wondered what the words raspberry, syllabub or toffee have in common? Did you know that pickle is a Dutch word but tomato, chocolate and chilli come from the Aztecs?

Join broadcaster and children's writer Michael Rosen on an adventure into language and food as he discovers how our favourite (and least favourite) dishes got their names in Radio 4's Word of Mouth programme. He'll be joined onstage by writers and singers to entertain us with poems, songs and stories and he'll be working with local schools to find out what makes the children of Bristol go 'yum' and 'yuk'.

Michael Rosen and guests perform poems, songs and stories about food.

Exploring the world of words and the ways in which we use them.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright find out how much of English comes from French roots.

Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Producer: Sarah Addezio.

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright find out how video games influence language.

If you want to avoid being ghosted, catfished or bread-crumbed then this is for you.

Producer for BBC Audio Wales and West of England: Maggie Ayre

The evolving lexicon of online dating

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright talk to Rob Eastaway about imperial and metric measurements

John Wright is the author of The Naming of the Shrew: A Curious History of Latin Names.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen explores the wonderful Latin names used to describe animals and plants.

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright are joined by Paul Anthony Jones, the writer behind the popular etymology blog Haggard Hawks to talk about the origins of common idioms, the stories behind words we use every day, and the forgotten words Paul would like to see brought back into use.

Paul is the author of six books of word lore and linguistic trivia, including Haggard Hawks and Paltry Poltroons: The Origins of English in Ten Words, The Accidental Dictionary: The Remarkable Twists and Turns of English Words and - most recently - The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities: A Yearbook of Forgotten Words.

Producer: Mair Bosworth.

Michael Rosen is joined by Paul Anthony Jones of popular etymology blog Haggard Hawks.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright start a new series with hellos and greetings.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

We're familiar with the metaphors from school, from books and various science docs on the telly. But how accurate are these metaphors and could we find better ones?

Michael Rosen talks to science explainers across the country to find out how you get across ideas in science that are only properly expressed in highly technical language or in maths. Are they necessarily vague, even misleading, or are some just perfect for the concept they express.

Michael looks at the evolution of scientific metaphors in history and celebrates some of the great science explainers of the past. But he also asks whether some metaphors are not only inaccurate but dangerous as they lead to misunderstandings in the public conversation about science and scientific ideas.

Is gravity really like a bowling ball on a sheet? Michael Rosen on scientific metaphors.

Michael hears from zoologist Arik Kershenbaum about the latest research on how and why different types of animals communicate, from wolves howling to dolphins whistling: a world of soundscapes. He also explains how animal communication can help to shed light on the human variety.

Dr. Arik Kershenbaum is a zoologist and the author of: Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael hears about how animals communicate, and why, from zoologist Arik Kershenbaum.

Michael hears from zoologist Arik Kershenbaum all about how animals communicate, and why they do, and the ways in which animal communication sheds a light on the human variety.

Michael hears from zoologist Arik Kershenbaum about the latest research on how and why different types of animals communicate, from wolves howling to dolphins whistling to parrots squawking: a world of soundscapes. He also explains how animal communication can help to shed light on the human variety.

[LISTEN NOW]

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Sally Heaven

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Professor Julian Pine on how babies learn language.

Professor Julian Pine talks to Michael about how babies and young children learn words and sentences, and how they put them to use.

Michael and Laura perform some of Shakespeare's best known work in the original accent and attempt to bring new meaning and wit to language coated by centuries of veneer.

Producer: Mair Bosworth.

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright discover how Shakespeare spoke.

With many people unaware or forgetting how much its invention changed the world Chris uses the book 'The History of the Telephone' written in 1910 by Herbert Casson to trace the impact and assess early opinion of what one journalist called 'an invention of the devil' up to present day, where the device in our pockets is no longer regarded as a phone.

He's joined by Professor Will Stewart from the Institution of Engineering, discusses the telephone in movies with Professor Jeffrey Richards, learns about phone etiquette from Manager of Debretts James Field and makes a call to Bernard Cribbins to discuss the Buzby advertising campaign of the seventies.

Producer: Stephen Garner.

Chris Ledgard explores the impact of the telephone.

Michael Rosen talks to criminal defence barrister Joanna Hardy-Susskind about the legal language of Crown Court cases in England and Wales. From the grandeur of the courtroom and stock phrases like 'with respect to my learned friend' to the more colloquial directness of talking to a defendant. How do barristers build persuasive arguments when talking to a jury, or when discussing legal matters with the judge? Do weak arguments hide behind elaborate language? Do the best barristers use more stripped back language? And how do they deliver their words? The tone, the pace, the performance.

Produced in partnership with The Open University for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen talks to defence barrister Joanna Hardy-Susskind about courtroom language.

Michael Rosen talks to criminal defence barrister Joanna Hardy-Susskind about the persuasive language of the courtroom.

Michael Rosen talks to defence barrister Joanna Hardy-Susskind about the language of a criminal court case. From the grandeur of the courtroom and stock phrases like 'with respect to my learned friend' to the colloquial directness of talking to an accused defendant as they sit in their cell. How do barristers build persuasive arguments – and how do they tear down the arguments of their opposition? Do some barristers hide bad arguments behind elaborate language? Do the best barristers expose it with the most naked, stripped-back language? And how does a barrister decide how to deliver their words? The tone, the pace, the performance.

Michael Rosen talks to criminal defence barrister Joanna Hardy-Susskind about the language of the courtroom. Produced by Becky Ripley.

[LISTEN NOW]

You can call Samaritans anytime, free to from any phone, on 116 123. People can also contact us via email: jo@samaritans.org or go to www.samaritans.org to find details of their nearest branch for face to face help.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen talks to the Samaritans about how language can help people in crisis.

Gillian Tett is a columnist at the Financial Times, but she initially trained as a cultural anthropologist, studying marriage rituals in Tajikistan.

She joins Michael Rosen to discuss how the study of language has been vital to her work, who continues to see the world through the lens of an anthropologist. The pair talk about the etymology of words like 'company', 'office', and 'bank', why we should all speak more like the Dutch, how Brits in the workplace are more similar to the Japanese, and why it would be useful for all of us to think more like an anthropologist.

Gillian Tett is the author of Fool's Gold, The Silo Effect, and Antho-Vision.

Producer: Eliza Lomas, BBC Audio Bristol.

Michael Rosen is joined by Gillian Tett, columnist at the Financial Times.

Gillian Tett, Financial Times columnist, discusses how analysing linguistic behaviour through her training as a cultural anthropologist helped her foresee the 2008 financial crash.

Gillian Tett is Editor-at-Large of the Financial Times, and was one of the few journalists to predict the 2008 banking crisis. She initially trained as an anthropologist, studying the marriage rituals of Tajikistan.

Gillian joins Michael Rosen to discuss how the study of language has been vital to her work, both as an anthropologist and as a journalist who continues to understand the world through this lens. The pair talk about the etymology of words like 'company', 'office', and 'bank', and why it would be useful for us all to think more like an anthropologist.

Michael Rosen is joined by Gillian Tett to discuss language and anthropology.

Gillian Tett is Editor-at-Large of the Financial Times, and initially trained as an anthropologist. She discusses how the study of language has been vital throughout her career.

A fascinating look at the life of a language specialist.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

An insight into the world of a simultaneous interpreter.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright look into how new commercial brand names are invented.

Novelist Angela Carter described a double entendre as 'everyday discourse which has been dipped in the infinite riches of a dirty mind'. Whether innocently filthy or gleefully subversive, this British institution is part of a comedy tradition which has made us giggle for centuries.

Bostrom himself is a purveyor of this custom, most memorably as Officer Crabtree in the popular television situation comedy 'Allo 'Allo, and in this programme he slips into a world of suggestive speech; including radio series, saucy postcards and advertising. However as he probes the use of double entendre he discovers it isn't always to everyone's taste - including his own.

He's joined by writer Perry Croft, Lecturer in film studies at the University of Salford CP Lee, Deputy Editor of Marketing Week Branwell Johnson, artist Jez Dolan, comedian Steve Bugeja and Dr Paul MacDonald, a comic novelist and lecturer in creative writing.

Produced by Stephen Garner.

Arthur Bostrom examines the origins, colourful history and new era of the double entendre.

Dr Hannah Little is a science communicator, linguist and comedian. She joins Michael Rosen for some fascinating thought experiments on extraterrestrial communication and animal interactions closer to home. What might all this tell us about how human language first appeared, and why does it matter?

Produced by Sarah Goodman for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Michael Rosen talks to science communicator Dr Hannah Little.

Michael Rosen on the linguistic comfort food of clichés, pragmatics and how we use language to connect us beyond the actual words used. Derek Bousfield explains how words do more than carry meaning: context governs what we say and how it's understood.

Dr Bousfield is Reader in Pragmatics and Communication and Co-Director of The Manchester Centre for Research in Linguistics and co-author of Talking in Clichés: The Use of Stock Phrases in Discourse and Communication.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen on cliches, pragmatics and how language is used to connect us beyond words.

Michael Rosen on the linguistic comfort food of clichés, pragmatics and how we use language to connect us beyond the actual words used. With Dr Derek Bousfield.

[LISTEN NOW]

Poet Jackie Kay has written a book in Scots: Coorie Doon: A Scottish Lullaby Story. She joins presenter Michael Rosen to talk about her love of the language and what it meant to her growing up.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Jackie Kay has written a book in Scots and tells Michael about her love of the language.

Poet Jackie Kay has written a book in Scots: Coorie Doon: A Scottish Lullaby Story. She tells Michael Rosen about her love of the language and what it meant to her growing up.

Poet Jackie Kay has written a book in Scots: Coorie Doon: A Scottish Lullaby Story. She joins Michael to talk about her love of the language and what it meant to her growing up.

[LISTEN NOW]

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Tracy Beaker author Jacqueline Wilson talks to Michael Rosen about her love of language.

John H. McWhorter teaches linguistics, American Studies, and music history at Columbia University. He is a contributing editor at the Atlantic, columnist at the New York Times and host of Slate's Lexicon Valley podcast. McWhorter is the author of twenty books often on the subject of language, including The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language, Talking Back Talking Black, Words On The Move and Woke Racism.

Producer: Eliza Lomas

John McWhorter, author and linguist at Columbia University, joins Michael Rosen.

An exploration of spoken language and communication.

Why are thugs always vile, market towns always bustling, blondes bubbly and tirades foul mouthed? With the help of ex Editor Eve Pollard, journalist Robert Hutton who wrote 'Romps, Tots and Boffins', Strathcylde University's Michael Higgins, author of 'The Language of Journalism' and Professor John Mullan, Michael Rosen takes a look at the language and the cliches of news journalism

Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Michael Rosen on the necessary evil of journalistic cliche.

Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo and many other beloved children's books, tells Michael Rosen about her own writing, reading, speaking and listening. Her childhood experiences were a big influence, as was busking in Paris and writing songs which ended up on Play School and Play Away. One of the songs became her first book, A Squash and a Squeeze.

They also talk about Julia's new book, Paper Chase, illustrated by Victoria Sandøy.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

The Gruffalo author tells Michael Rosen about her writing, reading, speaking and listening

Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo, tells Michael Rosen about her writing, reading, speaking and listening, beginning with her own childhood experiences then busking in Paris.

Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo amongst many other beloved children's books, tells Michael Rosen about her reading, writing, speaking and listening, beginning with her own childhood experiences.

The Gruffalo author tells Michael Rosen about her reading, writing, speaking and listening

Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo, tells Michael Rosen about her reading, writing, speaking and listening, beginning with her own childhood experiences.

[LISTEN NOW]

Michael Rosen talks to Samantha Ellis, author of Chopping Onions on My Heart, about her efforts to keep alive the language of her parents: Judeo-Iraqi Arabic.

Samantha grew up in London hearing her parents speak the language they spoke in their homeland of Iraq. Now she's keen to try and speak it herself, and to share the poetic expressions of Judeo-Iraqi Arabic with her son.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven, in partnership with The Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen asks Samantha Ellis about the language spoken by her mum and dad.

[LISTEN NOW]

Producers: Milly Chowles and Sarah Langan.

Michael Rosen looks at children's television and its effects on language development.

Dominick Tyler is the author of Uncommon Ground: A word-lover's guide to the British landscape, and with his Landreader Project he aims to create a glossary of the British landscape.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen on the evocative words used to describe features of the British landscape.

Producer: Mair Bosworth.

Michael Rosen talks language and gender identity with CN Lester, author of Trans Like Me.

Neuroscientist Dr Frederique Liegeois joins Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright to discuss the genetic basis of language.

Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.

Michael Rosen talks to Sophia Smith Galer about the languages we're losing. She's found that by the end of this century half of the world's 7000 languages will be gone, and she's travelled across the world to meet both the people who are experiencing this and those who are fighting to keep the words and the knowledge they hold alive.

Sophia Smith Galer is the author of How to Kill a Language: Power, Resistance and the Race to Save Our Words.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen talks to Sophia Smith Galer about the languages we're losing from the world.

Michael Rosen talks to Sophia Smith Galer about the languages we're losing. She's found that by the end of this century half of the world's 7000 languages will have disappeared.

[LISTEN NOW]

For this episode of Word of Mouth, he invites his teacher, Tamara Micner, to join him in the studio. The pair have fun swapping family stories and sharing how they were first exposed to Yiddish. Tamara explains where the language came from and how it's evolved, and they discuss its connections to English. We also hear what Michael is like in class as a new learner, as he wraps his head around the pronunciation and patterns of this language which links him to his family history.

Producer: Eliza Lomas, BBC Audio in Bristol.

Michael Rosen with his Yiddish language teacher Tamara Micner.

Michael Rosen on the Americanisation of English, with Lynne Murphy and Matthew Engel.

Michael Rosen is joined by writer Matthew Engel and linguist Dr Lynne Murphy to discuss the Americanisation of English. Is the pace of Americanisation of British English really increasing? Why do Americans say eggplant and sidewalk, rather than aubergine and pavement? Why does your spellchecker insist it's 'color' not 'colour'? Do Americans complain about the 'Britishisms' creeping into use in the States as much as we complain about Americanisms in use in the UK? Does it really matter if British and American English begin to be used interchangeably and could we stem the flow if we tried?

Producer: Mair Bosworth.

Most of us make lists in some form or other - from essential groceries to reasons to feel positive about life. In this programme Linguistics Researcher Jo Nolan talks to Michael about her interest in the language we use in their making and their uses in literature and society.

Jo says the language we use in our lists is idiolectal - it reflects our inner selves, whether in our abbreviations, our choice of spelling, in-words, jokes etc. Her interest some would say obsession with lists extends to her collecting other people's shopping lists discarded in supermarket trolleys to gain what Michael and Jo describe as portholes and portals into people's lives.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Produced in partnership with The Open University

The Joy of Making Lists.

An exploration of the role list making plays in our lives.

Michael Rosen and linguistics researcher Jo Nolan discuss the joy of making lists.

Michael Rosen is joined by linguistics researcher Jo Nolan to talk about the role list-making plays in our lives.

[LISTEN NOW]

Producer: Maggie Ayre

The different names we call our common plants and flowers around the British Isles.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

What's it like to lose the language spoken by your parents? Michael Rosen finds out.

Michael Rosen on discovering lost words and finding hidden linguistic connections.

Producer Beth O'Dea

Michael Rosen talks to Professor Dawn Archer about how we might tell when someone is lying

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Producers Eliza Lomas & Sally Heaven.

Michael is joined by Tom Hewitson, conversation designer for the likes of Siri and Alexa.

Producers Eliza Lomas and Sally Heaven.

Produced by Beth O'Dea for BBC Audio in Bristol

Michael Rosen asks Dr Sophie Harrison about the special language used by doctors.

An exploration of spoken language and communication.

Sending a message in a bottle across the ocean to be rediscovered by someone in a far off land is an idea as old as Ancient Greece. Christopher Columbus did it, Jules Verne wrote about it and The Police sang that song. There's romance and adventure in the endless possibilities of interacting with the unknown.

As Chris explores the oblique and whimsical nature of this form of communication he hears modern day stories about people who have been saved by sending out an SOS, formed friendships across the water and found scientific value in the pastime.

However, amongst the tide of approval for this historical tradition a dissenting voice lurks.

Produced by Stephen Garner

Chris Ledgard uncorks the subject of messages in a bottle.

James Geary is the author of I Is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How It Shapes the Way We See the World.

Producer Beth O'Dea

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen on how we talk about historical eras in order to define how we live now.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Vocal coaches Gillyanne Kayes and Jeremy Fisher give Michael Rosen a thorough workout.

There is a tradition of using verbatim speech in music, and Michael compares Jennifer's work to the Radio Ballads of Ewan MacColl and Charles Parker, in particular Singing The Fishing.

Producer Beth O'Dea

More information about Jennifer Bell's work can be found on her website, www.jenniferbellcompany.com.

Michael Rosen hears about a project to turn interviews recorded in Parliament into songs.

Sound clips are taken from ‘Spoken London English', part of the English Language Teaching Resources website.

Producer Sally Heaven.

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright talk Multicultural London English with Ismail Einashe.

For the first 10 years of his life, William Laven went to speech therapy with a stammer that was so severe he could not form a full sentence. Fast forward to today, William is now a 23-year-old podcast founder, Tedx speaker, stammer advocate, awareness raiser and campaigner. He is devoted to improving expectations for those with speech impediments, to challenge the stigma surrounding stammers, and to encourage children with stammers to believe in themselves.

When it comes to his own stammer, he now believes it's his superpower!

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley

Michael Rosen asks William Laven about how he has learnt to celebrate his stammer.

Producer: Sarah Addezio.

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright explore how diseases are named.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen talks to Tiffany Watt Smith about the words we use to describe our emotions.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright look at the names people give to family relationships.

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright consider the names we give to our family relationships: stepmother, half-brother or blended family. Author and social critic Dr Wednesday Martin has strong opinions on the effects of these linguistic choices. Where do the words we use for our relatives come from and what do the choices we make say about us?

The premise of 'Newspeak' is to pare down the English language - or Oldspeak - so that only words that are essential in both a utilitarian and an ideological sense remain.

The idea is that this will make dissenting ideas - 'thoughtcrime' in Newspeak - literally impossible.

But could it work?

In Word of Mouth this week Chris Chris Ledgard tries to work out if New speak could happen here and whether, by taking away words, the government could also take away thoughts.

He gets to grips with the question of whether language determines thoughts as Orwell's invention supposes. He also finds out whether the most extreme totalitarian regimes like North Korea have attempted language control on the scale of Newspeak?

Many would argue that much political and corporate language as well as political correctness amounts to a creeping Newspeak in modern life but are we really that malleable or does the popularity of satires that mock that kind of jargon suggest Orwell was too pessimistic. We can spot attempts to impose phoney and manipulative language on to us and we ward it off with mockery.

Interviewees include: Jean Seaton, Professor of Media History at the University of Westminster and Director of the Orwell Prize, D.J Taylor, author of 'Orwell - the Life' and John Morton, writer and director of the BBC mock documentary comedies, 'Twenty Twelve' and 'W1A'.

Chris Ledgard explores Orwell's dystopian vision of the future of language - Newspeak.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode.

Producer Beth O'Dea

Related Links:

The content style guide in the NHS digital service manual: https://beta.nhs.uk/service-manual/content

The A to Z of NHS health writing: https://beta.nhs.uk/service-manual/content/a-to-z-of-NHS-health-writing

Writing outpatient letters to patients: http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj.m24?ijkey=PKDrAMEdQAxS1w5&keytype=ref

Please, write to me guidance: http://www.aomrc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Please_write_to_me_Guidance_010918.pdf

Michael Rosen on how the NHS chooses words on its website and in consultants' letters.

Michael Rosen is joined by graphic designer, author and the font of all knowledge when it comes to fonts, Sarah Hyndman, to discuss the psychology of typefaces.

Sarah is the author of 3 books, including 'Why Fonts Matter' and 'How to Draw Type and Influence people'. She is also the founder of the Type Tasting studio, which aims to change the way we think and talk about typography through interactive and sensory experiences.

Producer Rebecca Ripley.

How do fonts change the meaning of a message? Michael Rosen is joined by Sarah Hyndman.

Producer Beth O'Dea

Alex Bellos is the author of Alex Through the Looking-Glass: How Life Reflects Numbers and Numbers Reflect Life.

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright look at how numbers are understood - and misunderstood.

Most people profess to loathe it, yet eavesdrop on office meetings across the UK and you are bound to catch a 'Heads-up' a 'paradigm shift', or at the least a 'going forward'. So why does it proliferate, and why exactly does it get under the skin of so many of us. Michael asks his guests if office jargon is in fact just another example of a language that has evolved to represent complex technical issues. They also make an attempt at re-branding the programme.

Producer: Sarah Langan.

Michael Rosen explores the evocative Old English words used in daily life a thousand years ago, many of which are still in use now. He's joined by the linguist author of The Wordhord, Hana Videen. Hana has been hoarding words from Old English (450 AD to 1150 AD) for a decade, when she began tweeting one a day. Now she has lots of people following her to find out more about the language, and a new book out called The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary.

https://oldenglishwordhord.com

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen on the Old English words used in daily life then and now, with Hana Videen.

Michael Rosen explores the evocative Old English words used in daily life a thousand years ago, many of which are still in use now. With the author of The Wordhord, Hana Videen.

Michael Rosen explores the words that were used in daily life in Old English, with the linguist author of The Wordhord, Hana Videen. Hana has been hoarding Old English words for a decade, when she began tweeting one a day. Now she has lots of people following her to find out more, and a new book out called The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary.

Michael Rosen explores the words used in daily life in Old English, with Hana Videen.

[LISTEN NOW]

Image copyright : Greg Morrison

Suggestions for further reading from Professor Harloe:

There is much current debate within Classics over the racialised hierarchies based on skin colour and other physical features that existed in the ancient world, about how ideas about Greek and Roman culture have functioned to bolster and uphold White supremacist ideas, past and present. Much, though not all, of this scholarship is being done by woman classicists of colour.

Aimee Hinds, a classicist and art historian, has written essays on `Hercules in White: Classical Reception, Art and Myth` and `Pygmalion, Polychromy and Inclusiveness in Classics' about the pernicious effects of the Whitewashing of the ancient world in modern artistic traditions, scholarship and educational contexts.

Dr Sarah Derbew's research concerns the ways in which race and skin colour are represented and theorised in ancient Greek literature and art.

Dr Mai Musi退 is an expert on the representation of Persians and Ethiopians in ancient Greek novels.

Shelley P. Haley, Edward North Chair of Classics and Professor of Africana Studies at Hamilton College, New York, has been applying Black feminist approaches and critical race theory to study of Classics. Key essays of hers that discuss anti-blackness in classical translations include `Be Not Afraid of the Dark: Critical Race Theory and Classical Studies,` in Prejudice and Christian Beginnings: Investigating Race, Gender and Ethnicity in Early Christian Studies and 'Black Feminist Thought and Classics: Re-membering, Re-claiming, Re-empowering' in Feminist Theory and the Classics.

Sabrina Mahfouz is a writer and performer, raised in London and Cairo. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) and resident writer at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Her most recent theatre show was A History of Water in the Middle East (Royal Court) and her most recent publications as editor include Smashing It: Working Class Artists on Life, Art and Making it Happen (Saqi) and Poems From a Green and Blue Planet (Hachette Children's).

Sabrina Mahfouz talks to Tobi Kyeremateng and Katherine Harloe about othering in language.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen on the language we use to talk about animals - and the names we give dogs.

Professor Louise Mullany talks to Michael Rosen about politeness, and how it governs our lives, from the behaviour of football managers to the different ways children can embarrass us. Why, in this country at least, is it so mortifying to mistakenly assume someone is pregnant, when in other cultures it's simply thoughtful to book two seats on a plane for a larger person. Starring Michael Rosen as Spanish football manager Unai Emery, the politest man in football.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Professor Louise Mullany talks politeness, and how it governs every sphere of our lives.

Professor Louise Mullany talks to Michael Rosen about politeness, and how it governs our lives, from the behaviour of football managers to the ways children can embarrass us.

AKA Louise Mullany On Politeness

Professor Louise Mullany talks to Michael about politeness, and how it governs our lives, from the behaviour of football managers to the different ways children can embarrass us. Why, in this country at least, is it so mortifying to mistakenly assume someone is pregnant, when in other cultures it's simply thoughtful to book two seats on a plane for a larger person. Starring Michael Rosen as Unai Emery, the politest man in football.

[LISTEN NOW]

Contributors:

The Rev'd Canon Simon Butler, St Mary's Church Battersea

Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra

Pastor Kasali Fatai, The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Bristol

Ruth Gledhill, The Times religious correspondent

Max Atkinson, author of Lend Me Your Ears

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Until the 1980s the police had no formal training in interviewing techniques. When a suspect entered the interrogation room he could have faced a barrage of foul language, veiled threats and downright lies. There was usually no solicitor present and no recordings of the interview. A successful interrogation was one where the suspect 'coughed', admitting to the crime as quickly as possible.

Today things are considerably more restrained. The word 'interrogation' has been banned in England and Wales. Every 'investigative interview' is captured electronically and every policeman gets training in the latest psychological techniques to draw out suspect and witness testimony. The changes might be good for justice but they're a nightmare for novelists and dramatists.

Without the threats, the bullying and the violence what's left for the crime writer who enjoys the language of villains and crimefighters under extreme pressure? Michael talks to best-selling novelists Peter James and John Harvey and TV writer Sally Wainwright about the delicate path they tread between the dull reality of police official language and the tempting darklands of their violent imaginations.

Producer: Alasdair Cross.

Michael Rosen and top crime writers on the changing language of the police interview.

Image copyright : Greg Morrison

Sabrina Mahfouz is a writer and performer, raised in London and Cairo. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) and resident writer at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Her most recent theatre show was A History of Water in the Middle East (Royal Court) and her most recent publications as editor include Smashing It: Working Class Artists on Life, Art and Making it Happen (Saqi) and Poems From a Green and Blue Planet (Hachette Children's).

Siana Bangura: sianabangura.com @Sianaarrgh

Siana Bangura is a writer, producer, performer and community organiser hailing from South East London, now living, working, and creating between London and the West Midlands. Siana is the founder and former editor of Black British Feminist platform, No Fly on the WALL; she is the author of poetry collection, ‘Elephant'; and the producer of ‘1500 & Counting', a documentary film investigating deaths in custody and police brutality in the UK. Siana works and campaigns on issues of race, class, and gender and their intersections and is currently working on projects focusing on climate change, the arms trade, and state violence. Her recent works include the short film 'Denim' and the play, 'Layila!'. Across her vast portfolio of work, Siana's mission is to help move marginalised voices from the margins, to the centre.

Zoe Buckman: zoebuckman.com

Zo뀀 Buckman (b. 1985 Hackney, East London) is a multi-disciplinary artist working in sculpture, installation, and photography, exploring themes of Feminism, mortality, and equality.

Notable solo shows have included No Bleach Thick Enough, at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London, Heavy Rag at Fort Gansevoort Gallery New York, Let Her Rave at Gavlak Gallery Los Angeles, Imprison Her Soft Hand at Project for Empty Space, Newark; Every Curve at PAPILLION ART, Los Angeles; and Present Life at Garis & Hahn Gallery, New York.

Group shows include those at The Museum of Art and Design NYC, MOCA Virginia, The Camden Arts Centre, London, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Children's Museum of the Arts, Paul Kasmin Gallery NY, Goodman Gallery South Africa, Jack Shainman Gallery NY, Monique Meloche Chicago, NYU Florence Italy, Grunwald Art Gallery, Indiana University, and the Democratic National Convention, Philadelphia, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Atlanta, GA and The National Museum of African-American History & Culture, Washington, DC

Buckman studied at the International Center of Photography (ICP), was awarded an Art Matters Grant in 2017, The Art Change Maker Award 2019 at The New Jersey Visual Arts Center, and The Art and Social Impact Award 2020 at Baxter St NYC, and completed a residency at Mana Contemporary in 2017.

Public works include a mural, We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident, in collaboration with Natalie Frank at the Ford Foundation Live Gallery of New York Live Arts in NYC. In February 2018 Buckman unveiled her first Public Sculpture presented by Art Production Fund on Sunset Blv, Los Angeles, a large scale outdoor version of her neon sculpture Champ, which has been up for three years.

Buckman lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Sabrina Mahfouz talks about protest slogans with Siana Bangura and Zoe Buckman.

Produced by Mair Bosworth.

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright explain how pubs got their names.

He visits the American Museum in Britain and speaks to their Head of Learning, Laura Brown about what's influenced the nation's approach to public speaking, and how a sense of optimism drives their passion to share ideas.

He also speaks to Chris Anderson about how he attracted such big names to speak at the TED events, and how it's grown into a global community of public speaking. Plus there's an interview with Amanda Timberg from TeachFirst about the way 'Show and Tell', 'Hot Seat' and TED talks all feed into their working practises.

Ignite has been described as a 'gig for speakers' and event organiser Andy Kervell describes the challenges of both putting together a five minute talk backed by twenty slides, and then delivering it to a rowdy and excitable crowd. Some of the speakers including Sky at Night presenter Dr. Chris Lintott explain why they enjoy taking part in these events.

Producer: Toby Field.

Michael Rosen explores the new wave of public-speaking events including Ignite and TED, and asks if the culture of 'Show & Tell' in American classrooms produces better public speakers.

He visits the American Museum in Britain and speaks to their Head of Learning, Laura Brown about what's influenced the nation's approach to public speaking, and how a sense of optimism drives their passion to share ideas.

He also speaks to Chris Anderson about how he attracted such big names to speak at the TED events, and how it's grown into a global community of public speaking. Plus there's an interview with Amanda Timberg from TeachFirst about the way 'Show and Tell', 'Hot Seat' and TED talks all feed into their working practises.

Ignite has been described as a 'gig for speakers' and event organiser Andy Kervell describes the challenges of both putting together a five minute talk backed by twenty slides, and then delivering it to a rowdy and excitable crowd. Some of the speakers including Sky at Night presenter Dr. Chris Lintott explain why they enjoy taking part in these events.

Producer: Toby Field.

Michael Rosen explores the new wave of public-speaking events including Ignite and TED, and asks if the culture of 'Show & Tell' in American classrooms produces better public speakers.

Producers: Melvin Rickarby and James Cook

Michael Rosen talks to academic Colin MacCabe about Raymond Williams' book Keywords.

Michael Rosen on stage at the Food Connections Festival in Bristol with historians and writers, Sue Shepherd, Annie Gray and Kathryn Hughes, discuss hungry minds and literary meals through history. James Bond's dinners, Miss Haversham's wedding cake, Paddington Bear's sandwiches - literature groans with plenty. In the Soviet Gulag prisoners discovered they shared a dream of rye bread flying past them like a meteor or an angel. History is full of hunger. Language has brought all these meals into life. Michael's three guests bring their favourites. Producer: Tim Dee.

Michael Rosen and guests debate the language of food, from Oliver's 'more' to cannibalism.

Chris Ledgard explores the ways people have read to each other at home down the centuries.

Producer Beth O'Dea

Naomi S. Baron is the author of Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World.

Michael Rosen examines the differences between reading print books and reading eBooks.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

BBC LovetoRead campaign: Michael Rosen on the pleasure of and the science behind reading.

Julie Sedivy's family left their home country, the former Czechoslovakia, when Julie was a small child. They arrived in Canada as refugees with no English. Michael and Julie discuss the role of language within Julie's family story: how young children assimilate, how parents adapt and what can learned from these family experiences for the whole of society.

Julie Sedivy is a Canadian writer and language scientist, whose book on losing and reclaiming her first language is called Memory Speaks.

Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio, Bristol.

Producer Sally Heaven

Further information and help.

Action Fraud provide a central point of contact for information about fraud and financially motivated internet crime.

Phone: 0300 123 2040 www.actionfraud.police.uk

Victim Support provides emotional and practical help to victims or witnesses of any crime, whether or not it has been reported to the police.

Phone: 0808 16 89 111 (24/7) www.victimsupport.org.uk

Victim Support NI offers emotional and practical support to all victims and witnesses of crime across Northern Ireland.

Phone: 028 9024 3133 www.victimsupportni.com

Victim Support Scotland offers emotional and practical support to all victims and witnesses of crime across Scotland.

Phone: 0800 160 1985 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm). www.victimsupportsco.org.uk

Dr Elisabeth Carter talks to Michael about the language used by romance fraudsters.

Producer: Maggie Ayre.

Michael Rosen goes to Glasgow to hear about the Scots language with Sanjeev Kohli.

As a port city Liverpool has long been open to a wide variety of global influences and languages that developed into a way of speaking that's termed 'Scouse' - from a word that probably originates in the Baltic region derived from the word 'lobscouse'.

Tony Crowley grew up in the heart of Liverpool. When he left home and went to Oxford University he became increasingly aware of his accent and his interest in the way his fellow Liverpudlians use language grew. He has written two books on the subject. He and Michael Rosen discuss the rich and humorous language of the city.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Maggie Ayre in partnership with the Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen talks about Liverpool English with Professor Tony Crowley.

Michael Rosen talks to Professor Tony Crowley about the unique dialect of Liverpool.

Tony Crowley grew up in the heart of Liverpool. When he left home and went to Oxford University he became increasingly aware of his accent and his nterest in the way his fellow Liverpudlians use language grew. He has written two books on the subject. He and Michael discuss the rich and humorous language of the city.

[LISTEN NOW]

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright look at the history behind and wordplay used in shop names.

Pointless chit chat or vital social lubricant? Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright talk small talk with psychotherapist and writer Philippa Perry, author of 'How to Stay Sane'. Why do we bother with small talk? What are the rules of banter? And what are we really talking about when we talk about the weather?

Producer: Mair Bosworth.

Michael Rosen talks to psychotherapist Philippa Perry about the importance of small talk.

Producer: Mair Bosworth

The research study on 'logs-key' referred to in this program is the work of Jesse Snedeker (Harvard University) and Yi Ting Huang (University of North Carolina).

Michael Rosen on the creative use and misuse of language by children.

Michael talks to linguist Dr Andreea Calude about her research into how language is used on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter/X. And he asks if we're witnessing the death of email.

Dr Andreea Calude is the author of The Linguistics of Social Media: An Introduction.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz Read less

How language is used on platforms like Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter/X.

[LISTEN NOW]

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Do we change the way we speak according to the person we are speaking to?

Producer Beth O'Dea

John Olsson talks to Michael Rosen about how he uses authorship analysis to solve murders.

Produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Chris Ledgard presents a discussion on the teaching of speaking and listening in schools and the way it's now assessed in the English GCSE. Can students really be taught to be eloquent speakers, and if so, how?

Taking part are Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers; writer and thinker Tom Chatfield, and Neil Mercer, Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Taking part will be Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers; writer and thinker Tom Chatfield, and Professor Neil Mercer. He studies students' spoken language skills in four areas: physical (how you use your voice and body), cognitive (how you marshal an argument and use questioning and logic), linguistic (how large your vocabulary is and how fluently you use general, abstract and academic words) and social (how you engage an audience and develop your confidence).

Chris Ledgard host a discussion on speaking and listening skills and the English GCSE.

Michael Rosen asks what happens to people's sense of identity and social being when speaking becomes hard. Jonathan Cole has interviewed people with conditions such as cerebral palsy, vocal cord palsy, spasmodic dysphonia and post-stroke aphasia. They describe in their own words what the experience of not being able to express themselves is like, the frustration and isolation as well as the adaptation and resilience.

Jonathan Cole is the author of Hard Talk: When Speech Is Difficult and a consultant in Clinical Neurophysiology at University Hospitals, Dorset.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen asks what happens to people's sense of identity when speaking becomes hard.

Michael Rosen asks what happens to people's sense of identity and social being when speaking becomes hard. Jonathan Cole has interviewed people about their experiences with this.

[LISTEN NOW]

Producer Beth O'Dea

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Steven Pinker joins Michael Rosen to talk about his love of, and life in, language.

And he visits a junior school to find out how a pioneering translation project is encouraging bilingual children to share the stories they've inherited from their families and translate them into English.

Contributors include Monica Byanjeru Chalmers, Faustin Charles and Sita Brand.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen hears the traditional stories that are being passed down the generations.

Michael Rosen talks to sociolinguist Philip Seargeant from the Open University about where our street names come from, including Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate in York, and Michael's old address, Love Lane. Also, have you ever thought about the difference between a street and a road? Are there regional differences in the names given to streets? And why are street names sometimes changed?

Producer: Sally Heaven

Word of Mouth is produced by BBC Audio Bristol in partnership with the Open University

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen talks to Philip Seargeant about where our street names come from.

Michael Rosen talks to Philip Seargeant from the Open University about where our street names come from, like Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate in York, and Michael's old address, Love Lane.

Michael talks to Philip Seargeant from the Open University about where our street names come from, including Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate in York, and Michael's old address, Love Lane. Also, have you ever thought about the difference between a street and a road? Are there regional differences in the names given to streets? And why are street names sometimes changed?

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven.

Language programme hurrah

[LISTEN NOW]

Featuring Stuttering and Cluttering, with Rosemarie Hayhow; why should English be the dominant language of science, with Stefan Klein; and the language of meditation, with Vishvapani.

Michael Rosen continues the series exploring the words we use.

4/6. Michael Rosen presents the series that takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen talks to Countdown's Susie Dent about her love of words and language.

Susie Dent joins Michael to talk about her lifelong fascination with words and their origins. It's a programme bringing some apricity, which is one of Susie's favourite words. Her love of language began when she was a child, then found expression in her passion for French and German and now in her work as a lexicographer, writer and language broadcaster.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Susie Dent joins Michael to talk about her lifelong fascination with words and languages.

Susie Dent joins Michael to talk about her lifelong fascination with words and etymology.

[LISTEN NOW]

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen and Laura Wright discuss how we take it in turns to talk, in conversation.

Producer: Mair Bosworth

Michael Rosen and guests explore the origins of the UK's town and village names.

Contributors:

Sam Ellis, squash player

Phil Johnson, sport & exercise psychologist

Steve Peters, psychiatrist & consultant to Team GB Cycling

Paul Manning, coach to Team GB Cycling

Coaches and players from Bristol Aztecs and London Olympians American Football teams

Ed Smith, former international cricketer

Producer: Toby Field.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

The writer Graham Joyce with a personal take on the ways in which we talk about cancer.

Michael Rosen's parents both grew up in the East End, and now he talks cockney with Andy Green and Saif Osmani from the Modern Cockney Festival. Including some mythbusting about rhyming slang, a discussion about how cockney has evolved, and of course a mention of Dick van Dyke.

The Modern Cockney Festival takes place from March 1st to 31st with a month-long programme of online and offline activities.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael talks cockney with Andy Green and Saif Osmani from the Modern Cockney Festival.

Michael Rosen talks cockney with Andy Green and Saif Osmani from the Modern Cockney Festival. Including some myth-busting about rhyming slang.

[LISTEN NOW]

Leslie Seltzer is Research Associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has tested the differing effects of a hug, a phone call and a text between mothers and daughters.

Dr Mirca Madianou is Reader in Media and Communications at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research is into mothers from the Philippines who've come to work in the UK and then try to look after their children back home by Skype. What works best for families living on different sides of the world?

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen on research into the emotional effects of different kinds of communication.

In 'Word of Mouth' Michael Rosen examines the roots of the word in the French Revolution, the strangely glamorous associations it took on in the late 1960s and the current debate over its use in post-9/11 legislation.

It's a word that can start a war. Michael Rosen explores the meaning of 'terrorist'.

Lane Greene is the language columnist and Spain correspondent at The Economist. He's the author of two books about language: 'Talk on the Wild Side' and 'You Are What you Speak'.

Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio in Bristol

Michael Rosen talks to Lane Greene about advances in language technologies.

Professor Tanya Byron sitting in for Michael Rosen explores the benefits and barriers to talking to strangers.

The 'liking gap' the 'parasite threat' and 'lesser minds': some of the terms used to describe the obstacles some of us face when it comes to talking to people we don't know. Fear of being rejected and straight up fear of other people can prevent us from engaging a complete stranger in conversation. But it's something psychologist Gillian Sandstrom and author Joe Keohane argue is vital for our wellbeing and on a wider scale reduces conflict and misunderstanding in increasingly fractious times. Joe and Gillian join Tanya Byron to talk about how to talk to strangers and how to overcome some of the fears and prejudices we may have about people we don't know. As for 'stranger danger' - is it time to kick that term to the kerb?

Produced by Maggie Ayre

Gillian Sandstrom is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Pyschology at the University of Essex

Joe Keohane is a New York based journalist and author of the forthcoming book The Power of Strangers

Professor Tanya Byron sitting in for Michael Rosen on talking to strangers.

He visits Albert Square and speaks to writer/cast-members of E20, Emer Kenny and Arinze Kene. Together with senior writer Jeff Povey they discuss how they developed the character of Fatboy to parody people who over-use slang, and Emer talks collecting words on buses.

What programme about young people and TV would be complete without mention of Skins? Writer Laura Hunter and cast talk about how they coined the phrase Amazeballs.

We also hear from Paul Parry, the self-styled literally tsar about the way the use of the word has changed. Why is it, like, literally everywhere?

Producer: Toby Field.

Writer Will Cohu thinks texting has changed the way we communicate with each other.

Students at William Morris Sixth Form tell Michael how they use their phones to talk - exploding a few popular preconceptions along the way.

Professor David Crystal puts the use of texting language into context, and Canadian linguist Joan Lee discusses her research on the subject.

And Nick D'Aloisio talks about the mobile phone app he's created which condenses and summarises news articles for a time-poor generation.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen on the uses and abuses of textspeak. Is English being abbreviated away?

Louise is a Professor of Sociolinguistics at the University of Nottingham and author of 'The Science of Politeness', due out next year.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley

Michael Rosen talks to sociolinguist Louise Mullany about all the ways we say sorry.

David J. Peterson is the creator of the Dothraki and Valyrian languages for fantasy series Game of Thrones, as well as many others. He joins Michael Rosen for a playful discussion about all things conlang, and Michael tries his luck at inventing a new language for bacteria.

Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Michael Rosen is joined by David J. Peterson, language creator for Game of Thrones.

Michael Rosen talks to sociolinguist Dr Haru Yamada about how we listen in different ways across different cultures and social groups. It's the side of conversation that is not about talking, but which is equally - if not more - important to how we communicate. Haru is the author of 'Kiku: The Japonese Art of Good Listening', and she believes that listening is something we can all learn to do better in order to build stronger relationships with each other, and with the world around us.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley, in partnership with The Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen talks to Dr Haru Yamada about how we listen, and how we can do it better.

Michael Rosen talks to sociolinguist Dr Haru Yamada about how we listen in different ways across different cultures and social groups, and how we can learn to do it better.

[LISTEN NOW]

The use of punctuation is rapidly changing within the quickfire back-and-forth of instant messaging. Are these changes causing misunderstandings? Presenter Michael Rosen and his guest Dr Christian Ilbury discuss. Is the full stop on the way out? What about capital letters? Exclamation marks and question marks seem to be holding their ground, but what about the rest?

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley, in partnership with The Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen and Christian Ilbury discuss how online chat is changing how we punctuate.

[LISTEN NOW]

Producer: Melvin Rickarby

What was the earliest language and how did it evolve? Michael Rosen investigates.

We also learn a bit of Hiberno-English along the way.

Producer: Maggie Ayre for BBC Audio Bristol

A longer version of this programme is available on the podcast

What the Irish language tells us about the world

Producer: Mair Bosworth

Michael Rosen explores the visual language of comics, with comics theorist Neil Cohn.

Presented by Michael Rosen and produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Ellie Richold.

Adam Rutherford joins Michael to make sense of the heavily loaded and often unscientific language that we use to talk about genetics, inheritance, ancestry and race. Adam is a geneticist, science writer, and lecturer in Biology and Society at University College London. His work tries to make sense of what our genes do (or don't) tell us about our similarities and our differences. He writes about this stuff in many of his books, including ‘How To Argue With A Racist' and ‘Where Are You Really From?

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Becky Ripley

Adam Rutherford joins Michael to unpick the knotty language we use to talk about genetics.

Adam Rutherford joins Michael to make sense of the heavily loaded language that we use to talk about genetics, inheritance, ancestry and race.

[LISTEN NOW]

Producer Beth O'Dea. Photo copyright: Antonio Olmos

More about Jeffrey Boakye:

Jeffrey Boakye is an author, commentator, writer and English teacher. He has a particular interest in issues surrounding education, race and popular culture.

Jeffrey, originally from Brixton in London, has taught English to 11- to 18-year-olds since 2007. ?He began teaching in West London, moved to East London where he was Head of English, and then moved on to Yorkshire where he now lives with his wife and two sons.

Jeffrey started writing his first book,?Hold Tight, in 2015 when cradling his first born son in the early hours. Hold Tight was published in 2017 and?is recognised as one of the first seminal books on grime music. He started writing his second book, Black, Listed, when cradling his second born son in the early hours. Published in 2019, Black, Listed was praised by David Lammy MP as ‘a book that gives a voice to those whose experience is persistently defined, refined and denied by others'. Jeffrey's third book, What is Masculinity?, a book for children on masculinity, broke with tradition and was not written when cradling a newborn son.

You can listen to Jeffrey Boakye's conversation with Michael Rosen on Word of Mouth here:

https://www.BBC.co.uk/programmes/m0004l93

Iesha Small is a writer, speaker and charity strategist passionate about creating a fairer society.

Iesha is Head of Strategy and Policy at the youth charity YHA. She has 15 years' experience in the education sector as a teacher, governor and Innovation Lead at the Centre for Education and Youth think tank. She is passionate about using storytelling alongside research to create positive change and is the author of The Unexpected Leader.

She has written about education and society for The Guardian, been a columnist for Schools Week and contributed to books covering education, mental health, and gender identity. She splits her working week between YHA, leadership development and storytelling. Her clients have included Chartered College of Teaching, The National Theatre, Teach First and BBC Radio 4.

Jeffrey Boakye talks with Iesha Small on the language of power and inequality in education

Jesse Sheidlower formerly of the Oxford English Dictionary began compiling a dictionary of sci-fi 20 years ago and has been updating it ever since. He brings Michael Rosen up to speed with current parlance in the SF world (true fans prefer this term rather than sci-fi) and explores the origins of words and sayings to do with robotics, extraterrestrial life and space exploration.

It's surprising how many examples of what was once the language of fiction have become our everyday reality. Robots of course are the obvious example but a few decades ago Space Station would have sounded like the stuff of fantasy.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Michael Rosen explores how the vocabulary of sci-fi has entered everyday speech.

The 'Manosphere' is a group of loosely affiliated mainly young males who have developed a specialised vocabulary to discuss women online in a negative and hostile way. Some of the vocabulary is a response to feminism which some men claim is diminishing their role in society. For other men a failure to attract women has given rise to phrases such as Chad and Stacey and a belief in the 80/20 theory - that 80% of women are attracted to just 20% of men who are Alpha males or Chads.

Acronyms such as AWALT (All women are like that) and MGTOW (Men Going Their Own Way) are also used for the purpose of internet dialogue.

Dr Jessica Aiston of Queen Mary University in London is one of several linguistic researchers who submitted evidence to the UK Parliament call for research into online misogyny. She tells Michael Rosen what that research has shown her and explains some of the terms used.

How did terms like “down the rabbit hole ? and “gaslighting ? enter the English language? How do other languages adapt expressions like these? Find out in an interactive guide with The Open University's experts. Visit the BBC Radio 4Word of Mouth page and follow the links to The Open University.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Maggie Ayre, in partnership with the Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen hears how words are used as weapons against women

Dr Jessica Aiston talks to Michael Rosen about her research into the language of online misogyny

[LISTEN NOW]

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Professor Tanya Byron examines the language of Covid-19 with author Mark Honigsbaum.

Michael Rosen hears the fascinating story of the origin of all Indo-European languages from Laura Spinney, the author of Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an Indo-European language and Laura has been investigating how that came to be.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen hears about the origin of all Indo-European languages from Laura Spinney.

Michael Rosen hears the fascinating story of the origin of all Indo-European languages from author Laura Spinney. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an Indo-European language.

Michael Rosen explores the growth of Indo-European languages with Laura Spinney, the author of Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an Indo-European language and Laura has been investigating how that came to be.

Michael Rosen explores the growth of Indo-European languages with author Laura Spinney.

Michael Rosen explores the growth of Indo-European languages with author Laura Spinney. Today, nearly half of humanity speaks an Indo-European language.

[LISTEN NOW]

Producer: Maggie Ayre for BBC Audio Bristol

Michael Rosen talks to Andy West who teaches philosophy in prisons

Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Dr Aleks Krotoski describes how we use language to create multiple personalities online across different social media platforms and the psychological effect of this. Forensic linguist Dr Claire Hardaker explains how communities rapidly develop their own unique lexicons as a way of establishing who's in and who's out.

Producer Milly Chowles.

Are we different online than in real life? Gemma Cairney asks Nick Grimshaw and friends.

What is a pedant, and where does pedantry come from? Michael Rosen talks to Oliver Kamm.

What is a pedant, and where does pedantry come from? Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright discuss with Times writer Oliver Kamm, who describes himself as a reformed pedant.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Producer: Sarah Addezio.

Michael Rosen answers listeners' language queries from the Word of Mouth inbox and postbag

The podcast version of this programme contains the full conversation between Michael and Clare.

Producer Beth O'Dea

Clare's website: http://claremurphy.org/

https://blesma.org/how-we-help/making-generation-r/

Michael Rosen talks to storyteller Clare Muireann Murphy about the wonder of stories.

Voice coach Penny Dyer demonstrates how she helped Helen Mirren to transform the way she talked, for the film 'The Queen'.

Clive Upton talks about this kind of speech - known as Trad RP or URP.

Jonathan Harrington has studied the Queen's Speech over the decades and traces the ways in which she has come to sound more like her people.

And Peter French listens to the younger generation of the Royal family to hear how they speak.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

In Diamond Jubilee year, Michael Rosen looks at royal language. How has the way the Queen speaks changed over the years, and how about her grandchildren? What is the Queen's English, and does she speak it?

Jonathan Harrington has studied the Queen's Speech over 50 years and traces the ways in which she has come to sound more like her people.

And we uncover the rather surprising original meaning of the word jubilee.

Clip from 'Mans Not Nice' Michael Rosen remix credited to MisterLucca

Produced by Ellie Richold for BBC Audio in Bristol

Michael Rosen talks to internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch about online fandom language.

Producer Beth O'Dea, BBC Audio Bristol

Michael talks to Sheela Banerjee about the family and cultural histories revealed by names

Michael Rosen goes on an alphabetical odyssey with linguist Dr Danny Bate, author of the book 'Why Q needs U: A History of Our Letters and how We Use Them'. From A through to Z, where did all our letters come from, and how have they changed over time?

Produced in partnership with the Open University by Becky Ripley.

Michael Rosen journeys down the A-Z on an alphabetical odyssey with linguist Danny Bate.

Michael Rosen goes on an alphabetical odyssey with linguist Danny Bate, author of the book Why Q Needs U: A History of Our Letters and How We Use Them.

[LISTEN NOW]

This kind of list comes from a branch of lingustics called Corpus Linguistics. It looks at the frequency and distribution of words in large bodies of text or speech. You can apply it to anything - political debates, lonely hearts columns or pop songs. Which is exactly what our guest Prof Jonathan Culpeper has done. That's high end linguistics and Pharrell Williams. Only on Word of Mouth.

APPENDIX 1 - THE LIST!

* have

* for

Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright guide listeners through the 20 most commonly used words.

In a special recording at the Hay Festival, Michael Rosen talks to Welsh radio and television presenter Huw Stephens about the Welsh language.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen talks to Welsh radio and TV presenter Huw Stephens about the Welsh language.

[LISTEN NOW]

Dr Lucy Pollock has been an NHS consultant geriatrician, a doctor specialising in the care of older people, for over 30 years. She is the author of The Book About Getting Older, and her new book is The Golden Rule: lessons in living from a doctor of ageing.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

How we talk about getting older can affect how we age. Michael hears from Dr Lucy Pollock.

But do these words mean what we think they do? And do they help or heighten the issues we are trying to discuss?

Producer: Alice McKee, BBC Audio Bristol

Producer: Perminder Khatkar.

Michael Rosen asks what time is and explores the words we use to talk about it.

They are put under the spotlight by psychologist Dr Meredith Shafto, and try to find ways round it with the help of somebody who can memorise a 1000-digit number in an hour - memory Grandmaster Ed Cooke.

Producer: Melvin Rickarby.

Michael Rosen on one of the most frustrating language states: tip of the tongue.

Michael Rosen talks to Ione Georgakis from Tourette Action about about her personal and professional experience of Tourette Syndrome and vocal tics. How and why do tics happen, and what are some of the myths and misunderstandings around the syndrome?

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Sally Heaven, in partnership with the Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen talks to Ione Georgakis about Tourette syndrome.

Michael Rosen talks to Ione Georgakis from Tourette Action about her personal and professional experience of Tourette syndrome and vocal tics.

[LISTEN NOW]

Slogan clothing is having - what fashion insiders might call - ‘a bit of a moment' right now. From longstanding British fashion house Burberry with its new contemporary text based monogram to US designer Tory Burch's political ‘Vote' print, the slogan t-shirt is quite literally making a statement. And it's not just on the catwalk - we've all seen them - and many of us are wearing them - from ‘Nike's ‘old school ‘Just Do It' to ‘This is What a Feminist Looks Like' and these chest worn or cap emblazoned messages can reveal much about the identity of the wearer. They can tell us who they are - or - who they want to be. They can reveal hopes, dreams, political views. They are an intriguing insight into the concerns and obsessions of our twenty-first century society. Or are they just a bit of word play and fashionable fun?

Produced by Nicola Humphries

Michael Rosen discusses slogan T-shirts with Amber Butchart and Caryn Franklin.

Ruanni, who's from the Philippines and also spent two decades in Singapore, has spent his career thinking about what it means to be a native English speaker when you come from somewhere other than the West. He chats with Michael about his own experience of speaking four languages (English and three Philippine languages), how being judged by how he spoke English at university affected the rest of his life and research, and what it means for his children speaking English as a first language, havng grown up in Singapore. They also discuss what is really meant by English as a 'global language', and why he prefers thinking of multi-lingualism as having a language repertoire.

Ruanni Tupas is Associate Professor of Sociolinguistics at UCL, London.

Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol

Michael Rosen is joined by Ruanni Tupas to discuss English from around the world.

Ruanni Tupas, a Filipino scholar of language, joins Michael Rosen to discuss how native English is perceived differently depending on where you come from.

Producer: Melvin Rickarby

Michael Rosen talks to linguist Teddy Mack about Vincy, a language rooted in English spoken on the Caribbean island of St Vincent, alongside standard English. But the English Teddy encountered when he moved to the UK proved to be very different (and far from standardised) and he's learned to switch throughout his life.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen talks to linguist Teddy Mack about Vincy, a language spoken on St Vincent.

[LISTEN NOW]

In Britain talking about the weather is a good neutral way to start conversation. Because we have such varying weather conditions (three seasons in one day) there is always something to marvel at or grumble about. But around the world sayings and descriptive words for clouds, winds, rainfall and dry spells are also popular. Michael Rosen is joined by lexicographer, Harry Campbell, who compiled a Compendium of Weather to discuss the various ways we like to talk about it from the North East of Scotland to the South West of England via Wales and Northern Ireland. Snel winds, dreich days and nesh climates all feature along with some of the hundreds of contributions sent in by listeners from around Britain.

Producer for BBC audio in Bristol, Maggie Ayre

The many different ways we use to talk about the weather

Britain's Chief Negotiator on Northern Ireland, Jonathan Powell and Sinn Fein's Conor Murphy, discuss the language that paved the way to the Good Friday Agreement and why it was often ambiguous rather than clear language that kept the talks on track.

Chris Ledgard investigates three situations where precise use of words is crucial.

Producer Beth O'Dea

Nick Enfield and Michael Rosen on language being good for lawyers but bad for scientists.

Michael Rosen on the linguistic comfort food of clichés and and the slippery language of gaslighting. Dr Derek Bousfield explains how words do more than carry meaning - they shape how we connect, persuade, and even manipulate. Context governs what we say and how it's understood.

Dr Derek Bousfield is Reader in Pragmatics and Communication and Co-Director of The Manchester Centre for Research in Linguistics.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth O'Dea, in partnership with the Open University.

Subscribe to the Word of Mouth podcast and never miss an episode: https://www.BBC.co.uk/sounds/brand/b006qtnz

Michael Rosen on cliches, gaslighting and how language is used to connect and manipulate.

Michael Rosen on the linguistic comfort food of clichés, the slippery language of gaslighting and how language is used both to connect and to manipulate. With Dr Derek Bousfield.

[LISTEN NOW]

In the moments that really count, how do we respond to someone sharing bad news or raw emotion? How do we listen well? What do we say - and what should we not say?

Kathryn and Michael talk about why we tell stories to help us process important moments and how silence is often the most caring response to someone in distress. They also talk about having conversations aloud or in our heads with loved ones who have died and how this can help us work through loss.

Kathryn Mannix is the author of Listen: How to Find the Words for Tender Conversations and With the End in Mind: How to Live and Die Well.

Produced by Sarah Goodman for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Kathryn Mannix and Michael Rosen on how to talk tenderly and and listen well.

Michael Rosen hears why from American linguist Arika Okrent. Together they talk about the strangeness of English and who is to blame for the mess.

Produced by Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Michael Rosen hears why our language is a bit of a mess from linguist Arika Okrent

Over the past 10 years, Macfarlane has been gathering a 'word-hoard' of thousands of terms for nature, landscape and weather, in the hope of preserving, enriching and diversifying our language for the living world. He shares some of his favourites with Michael Rosen and Dr Laura Wright and talks about why its so important to celebrate the language we use to talk about the natural world.

Produced by Mair Bosworth.

Robert Macfarlane tells Michael Rosen about his 'word-hoard' of endangered nature words.

With the rise of the internet there is more political discussion than ever. Yet this torrent of words seems to carry less understanding than ever. This has been attributed to many causes. Some say it is the anonymous nature of internet discussions, or the increasing disparity between rich and poor, or even the efficacy with which media (and propaganda) organisations can affect public opinion. But possibly the problem lies in language itself. Traditionally, political language has been a shared endeavour through which we express our differences. Perhaps now even the language itself has become partisan - words carry profoundly different meanings for different people and the shared understand that public debate relies on is much reduced. Two people can share a word - say government or sovereignty - but if the frame of reference for what that word means has become radically different it's hard to find the common ground on which meaningful debate can happen. So Michael Rosen and his guests are looking at the state of current political and public debate, delving into the philosophy of language and seeing how words get their meaning in the minds of their users. Perhaps, on top of all our other attendant crises, we can claim to be living through a crisis of language.

Producers James Cook and Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen asks if we are living through a crisis of language in public debate.

Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Ellie Richold

Dr Pip Thornton and Michael Rosen explore how language has become an online commodity.

Lynda Mugglestone, Professor of the History of English at the University of Oxford, joins Michael Rosen to talk about the new language that emerged from British experience in the First World War - from Zeppelinophobia on the Home Front to ‘watching the pyrotechnics' in the trenches.

Jumping into an extraordinary archive put together by clergyman Andrew Clark at the time, they discover just how many words and phrases were coined to describe this brand new kind of warfare, and what they mean to us today.

Professor Lynda Mugglestone is the author of Writing a War of Words: Andrew Clark and the Search for Meaning in World War One.

Produced by Sarah Goodman for BBC Audio in Bristol.

Michael Rosen and Professor Lynda Mugglestone explore the new language from World War I.

Recorded at BBC Birmingham.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen discusses interesting family words and phrases with listeners in Birmingham.

Deborah Cameron is Professor of Language and Communication at the University of Oxford. In 2007 she published The Myth of Mars and Venus, a general-interest book about language and gender differences. She writes a regular blog - 'Language: a feminist guide' - and occasionally performs as a linguistic stand up comedian.

Produced by Mair Bosworth

From hussy to bossy, spinster to slut, Professor Deborah Cameron on words used about women

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Comedian Isy Suttie on how she writes comedy

Producer: S. ELMES

Next in series: 11 October 1994

Previous in series: WILD CHILD

Broadcast history

04 Oct 1994 12:25-12:55 (RADIO 4)

21 Jan 1995 22:15-22:45 (RADIO 4)

Recorded on 1994-10-03

For many deaf people, English isn't their first language - they grow up speaking sign language. Chris talks to the artist and writer Louise Stern, who speaks in sign language and is the fourth generation to be born deaf in her family, via her long-time collaborator and interpreter, Oliver Pouliot.

Reporter Sally Heaven visits the University of Bristol Centre for Deaf Studies - the only one in the UK - to find out more about the intricacies of British Sign Language from Linda Day and Rachel Sutton-Spence.

And Chris meets Charlie Swinbourne, a deaf journalist and scriptwriter who grew up in a deaf family and describes himself as 'hard of hearing'. He speaks and uses sign language, and so he moves between both the deaf and hearing worlds.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Exploring the different ways in which deaf people communicate. First of new series.

And Chris meets Charlie Swinbourne, a deaf journalist and scriptwriter who grew up in a deaf family and describes himself as 'hard of hearing'. He both speaks and uses sign language so moves between both the deaf and hearing worlds.

Producer: Beth O'Dea.

First of a new series. Michael Rosen looks at the speaking of English in the UK - who speaks English and who doesn't? If you live in the UK should you speak English - and if so, what will be the effect of cutting the funding for ESOL English language classes?

Michael meets people settled in the UK who are studying English, to find out how they learn it, and how it's paid for.

Then he chairs a discussion on the wider issues with John Eversley, Senior Lecturer in Public Health and Primary Care at City University; Douglas Murray, author and political commentator, and Director of the Centre for Social Cohesion; Sarah Mulley, Associate Director for Migration, Trade and Development at the Institute for Public Policy Research and Ceri Williams, Warden and Principal of Mary Ward Settlement and Centre.

Michael Rosen looks at the speaking of English in the UK - who does and who doesn't?

Florence is the author of An Admirable Point: A Brief History of the Exclamation Mark!

Producer Beth O'Dea

Michael Rosen exclaims excitedly over exclamation marks with Florence Hazrat.

In 2001, 78% of pupils in England did a language GCSE. By last year that had fallen to just 43%. Chris Ledgard talks to Andy Burnham, Shadow Secretary of State for Education; Vivienne Hurley of the British Academy; Professor Andrew Hussey of the University of London Institute in Paris; John Rushforth, Deputy Vice Chancellor of UWE; Swansea University language student Catherine Rendle; Luke Young, President of the NUS in Wales and Glyn Hambrook, a former language lecturer, to find out the true picture and ask if it really matters.

Students are no longer choosing to study foreign languages. What will be the impact?

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

Chris Ledgard explores our efforts to communicate with extra-terrestrial intelligence.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

Michael Rosen asks how English spoken by foreign students equips them for university life.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

Michael Rosen starts a new series by investigating the effects of alcohol on speech.

Next in series: 2/6

Previous in series: 01 July 1995

Broadcast history

19 Sep 1995 12:25-12:55 (RADIO 4)

18 Nov 1995 22:15-22:45 (RADIO 4)

Recorded on 1995-09-18

He explores teenspeak with a father and son team who have compiled a dictionary on the subject.

Writer Louise Rennison and psychologist Dorothy Rowe join him in front of an audience at the Dartington Ways with Words festival.

Michael Rosen explores teenspeak with a father and son dictionary team.

1/6. He explores teenspeak with a father and son team who have compiled a dictionary on the subject.

Producer: John Byrne.

Michael Rosen discovers that the giving and receiving of compliments is a tricky business.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

Chris Ledgard explores the language ideas in the story of Babel.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

Michael Rosen explores propaganda and the language of persuasion in media old and new.

Including Sonja Elen Kisa on inventing one's own language and Neil Taylor on inventing names for companies and products.

Michael Rosen continues the series exploring the words we use.

Michael Rosen looks at the world of words.

2/6. Recorded in front of an audience at the Dartington Ways with Words festival, Michael Rosen debates the language of power and authority with the help of journalists Michael Buerk, Peter Godwin and Peter Stanford, and philosopher John Gray.

And Gregory Clark is using surnames to track the wealth and status of families over forty generations, with surprising results.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

What's in a name? Chris Ledgard looks at where our names come from and what they mean.

Producer: Sarah Langan.

Chris Ledgard talks to the outgoing editor of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Most people will admit to talking to themselves every now and then. We do it to steel ourselves to do a difficult task or it can help to organise our thoughts. Some people think through past dilemmas aloud testing out different points of view and many berate themselves for mistakes. Some use it to say all the things they wish they'd said but didn't.

But what does this self talk do to the individual? Is it healthy and to what extent are our perceptions of it damaged by the old adage that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness? After all, therapy encourages us to ask questions of ourselves rather than seek external solutions. And to what extent does self talk play a part in prayer and confession? Michael talks to psychologists, priests, actors, stand ups and writers to find out.

Producer Sarah Langan.

Michael Rosen asks who we are really talking to when we talk to ourselves.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

3/6. Guest presenter John Lloyd continues the series which takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them.

Chris Ledgard considers the rise in popularity of storytelling at the Festival at the Edge

Chris Ledgard travels to a three day celebration of storytelling, Festival at the Edge in Shropshire, one of many storytelling festivals now held globally. Here he meets storytellers from all over the world, and the audiences who have come to hear them, to try and discover why in a digital age there has been such a resurgence of interest what is after all, an ancient method of communication. Producer Paul Dodgson.

Chris Ledgard on the rise in popularity of storytelling at the Festival at the Edge.

Michael Rosen explores the complex relationship between language and sport, and asks 'If sport is so unpredictable, why is it that sports punditry is so predictably cliche-ridden?

Michael talks to commentators, athletes, and athletes-turned-commentators to see if the arrival of the Olympics on British soil is likely to herald a new era of hyperbole and inarticulate over-excitement.

Producer: John Byrne.

Michael Rosen explores the complex and difficult relationship between language and sport.

'After toying briefly with 'Teach Yourself Welsh', I went on a four-day course in Denbigh; Craig Jones was the tutor. Over the summer I did a couple of week-long courses in Denbigh, initially with another Mr Jones, but he went off sick and was replaced by a Mrs Jones. Wales is full of them.'

Being a beginner is frustrating. After a lifetime of being fluent, I suddenly had the vocabulary and grammar of a three-year-old.' But Les persevered, and is now a serious performer on the Welsh poetry scene, and one of the organisers of this summer's Eisteddfod. Chris Ledgard meets Les as he makes last minute preparations for the festival.

Producer John Byrne.

Chris Ledgard meets Les Barker, a Mancunian who's fallen in love with the Welsh language.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Michael Rosen is joined by grammar fanatic Ellen Jovin.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

In Delhi and Jaipur, Chris Ledgard explores the passion and politics of language in India.

Chris Ledgard meets people with a condition that isn't that widely acknowledged by many General Practitioners: misophonia. People who have it suffer extreme adverse reactions to sounds created by other human beings; frequently breathing or eating sounds. Chris asks about the scientific research that is being undertaken, both in the UK and abroad.

Stuart Maconie takes a look at mondegreens - aka misheard lyrics - considering classics by Jimi Hendrix and Creedence Clearwater Revival as well as some contemporary musical misunderstandings in a track by the band Hot Chip.

Chris Ledgard also looks at communication in times of crisis and disaster.

Producer: Sarah Langan.

Chris Ledgard and Stuart Maconie explore miscommunication, mondegreens and misophonia.

Winstons Wish is a charity for children who have lost a parent, brother or sister. Michael sits in on a training session for teachers and carers in Cheltenham, and discovers how the language we use can either confuse or comfort young children. He talks to psychologist Colin Murray Parkes about the stages of grieving and the psychological complexity of dealing with loss. And he visits a Death Cafe, where like-minded people come together to discuss anything and everything about death and dying, whilst enjoying tea and cake.

Writer Michael Rosen explores the language of bereavement and grief.

Word of Mouth explores the value of dumbing down.

Cora Malinak is a trainer who helps people from other cultures to learn the unwritten rules of communicating politely in English. Geraldine D'Amico discusses French ideas on politeness, and the rules about using 'tu' and 'vous'.

Blogger Sarah Ditum talks us through the 'online disinhibition effect'. Why is it that emails can seem ruder than other forms of communication?

And Michael talks to the eminent linguist and author Professor Deborah Tannen, who has spent many years studying the language of politeness, and believes that what seems like rudeness can in fact just be a different conversational style.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

Michael Rosen delves into the fascinating world of food and drink advertising.

Chris Ledgard discovers the art and science of producing talking newspapers for the blind.

4/8. Cockney or Mockney

With their gentle satire on class in post-war Britain, the Ealing Comedies secured an abiding place in the national consciousness. But just how accurate was the speech of the union officials in The Man with the White Suit or the working class Londoners in Passport to Pimlico?; plus: It's written in the stars - how the language of astronomy came down to earth in words like consider, disaster and influenza.

Michael Rosen on communicating with people with autism or profound learning difficulties.

Michael Rosen meets parents, researchers and carers to explore the ways we communicate with people with autism or profound learning disabilities. Phoebe Caldwell talks about the principles of intensive interaction, and why listening and non verbal communication are central to her work. Researchers at the Norah Fry Research Centre in Bristol explain why changing the way we communicate with people with disabilities can challenge preconceptions, and make relationships more open, friendly and equal. And Ruth Hendery, the head teacher at St Crispin's special school in Edinburgh, explains how communication works in her school, and why it's so important to get it right.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

Katie Puckrik tells how she, a self confessed 'fume head' talks and thinks about perfumes. Chris and fashion writer Stephanie Talbot walk the streets of Bristol, on the look out for the latest t-shirt slogans, and Chris gets the lowdown on the fashionista jargon from trend forecaster, Lucy Norris.

Producer: Sarah Langan.

Chris Ledgard explores how we talk about scents, slogans on T-shirts and fashion lingo.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

In Delhi and Jaipur, Chris Ledgard continues to explore the politics of language in India.

Chris visits Dr Harry Witchel for some body language training, looks into some body language myths, and talks to impressionist Kate Robbins about the way she uses her face and gestures when mimicking people.

Produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Chris Ledgard considers the importance of body language in communication.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Michael Rosen presents the series that takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them.

Michael Rosen presents the series that takes a close look at the words we use, where they come from and how we play with them.

6. Abracadabra!

Michael Rosen and guests pull a rabbit out of a hat as they investigate magical words associated with conjuring.

Then News.

'Writer Michael Rosen charts the rise and rise of the audiobook. From its beginnings as a way for blind war veterans to enjoy literature, to the blockbusters and autobiographies of today, Michael discovers that the audiobook has a curious history. Subject to suspicion and occasional derision, the audiobook was long the poor relation of proper reading and has only recently received more serious scholarly attention. Michael visits the sound studios to hear audiobooks in production, and talks to writers, sound engineers, directors and actors about the art of the successful audiobook.'

Michael Rosen charts the rise of the audiobook and asks if every writer is a performer.

Presenter : Michael Rosen

Producer : Perminder Khatkar.

Michael Rosen discovers why instruction manuals are so hard to follow.

Puzzle setter for The Guardian, Chris Maslanka, explains the secrets of puzzle setting; Marcel Danesi from the University of Toronto explains the Riddle of the Sphinx; and scientist Katherine Friedlander explains how you can improve your puzzle solving.

Producer: Melvin Rickarby.

Chris Ledgard mulls over the language and peculiarity of puzzles.

Chris Ledgard investigates the search for translators for London 2012.

Producer Beth O'Dea.

Chris Ledgard looks at the ways of counting incidences of words and what that can tell us.

Presenter: Michael Rosen

Producer :Perminder Khatkar.

New research at the University of Liverpool is tracking for the first time in the United Kingdom how and what words babies and toddlers are picking up or understand. According to Professor Caroline Rowland and her colleague Anna Christopher what is emerging is the need to take into account the different dialects spoken. But what's in an accent or dialect ? Should we be correcting children's accent and grammar so that they are not disadvantaged later in life and how and what influences they way we speak; for dialectologist Dr Andrew Hamer we are all products of our history. In this edition of 'Word of Mouth' Michael Rosen talks to those who love or loathe their accent; those who have managed to retain their accent and those who have changed the way they speak concluding with voice and dialect coach Charmian Hoare who works with actors and Vicky Carpenter who trains- well anyone and claims she can make you 'accent-less' but is there such a thing ? surely we all have an accent ?

Presenter: Michael Rosan

Michael Rosen explores the impact of your accent and dialect, starting with the very young

Barristers Nicola Cain and Christina Michalos explain defamation law. Professor Laura Gowing from King's College London takes us back to a time when seditious language could land you in the pillory. And barrister Diane Chanteau explains how critical the use of exact language is in court.

Producer: Melvin Rickarby.

Recorded in front of an audience at the Dartington Ways with Words festival, Michael Rosen debates the language of power and authority with the help of journalists Michael Buerk, Peter Godwin and Peter Stanford, and philosopher John Gray.

Chris Ledgard meets some of those trying to stop the death of languages around the world.

What kind of English is being used among non-native speakers?

Link to all the Word of Mouth podcasts: https://www.BBC.co.uk/programmes/b006qtnz/episodes/downloads

Producer Beth O'Dea

Richard Osman talks in depth to Michael Rosen about his broadcasting and writing lives.

With a royal baby due, Michael Rosen investigates the royal and national name hoard.

Produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.

At the Brighton Festival, Michael Rosen and guests debate our linguistic ties with German.