Putin, Bush, and Pronouns: Presaging War?
Can linguistics help predict a war? This past weekend, Planet Word Advisor James Pennebaker and his colleagues Ryan Boyd and Ashwini Ashokkumar posted a short article on their blog, Wordwatchers,…
Empathy, Art, and Telling Important Stories: Q&A with Jason Reynolds
Long Way Down—Jason Reynolds’s bestselling novel in verse—makes its way to the Kennedy Center. Reynolds, a member of Planet Word’s Advisory Board, talked to us about empathy, the theatrical adaptation…
Five Obscure(ish) Words for Crossword Puzzlers
Read up on the five words that New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz thinks you should know, then try your hand at a puzzle made by the Planet Word team!
Language and National Security: Q&A with Bill Rivers
When national security threats appear, we need to be equipped to handle them with more than just manpower — we need language experts too. Bill Rivers, executive director of the…
Poetry in America: Q&A with Lisa New
Poetry shouldn't be some imposing, academic monolith: it should be discussed and enjoyed in homes and classrooms everywhere. The Poetry in America initiative, founded and directed by Lisa New, uses…
Pronunciation, Prestige, and Punchlines: Q&A with David Crystal
Pronunciation can be a minefield of silent letters and tricky vowels — and a signal of social hierarchy. But accents and pronunciation also provide endless fodder for jokes. Linguist and…