That's What They Say
Sunday at 9:35 AM
That's What They Say is a weekly segment on Michigan Public that explores our changing language. Each week University of Michigan English Professor Anne Curzan will discuss why we say what we say with Michigan Public Weekend Edition host Rebecca Kruth.
Latest Episodes
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We don't encounter petards very often anymore. That’s unless we’re being, metaphorically speaking, “hoisted with our own petard.” -
There are plenty of people out there who see "utilize" as a pretentious substitute for "use." However, some people are completely comfortable utilizing the verb "utilize."
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There’s the “yea” in voting “yea” or “nay," and then there’s the celebratory “Yay!" Oh yeah, there's also "yeah."
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Whoa, whoa, whoa. There are a lot of ways to spell "whoa."
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You could say, "I don't like him singing," or you could say, "I don't like his singing." Believe it or not, some folks have very strong feelings about which of those is correct.
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It's all so grammatically straight forward in the present tense if you plead innocent. Later on though, should you tell people you "pleaded" innocent or "pled" innocent?
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The sign at the grocery store said “can goods,” not “canned goods.”
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We keep track of things, we lose track of things, we run track, and listen to tracks. Sometimes though, we confuse “track” with “tract.”
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Alls our listener wanted to know is what's going on with the “alls” in “alls I know.”
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