Words for Granted - An etymology and linguistics podcast

How does someone "invent" a language? And why invent a language in the first place? In this episode, Ray chats with George Corley (Conlangery) about the world of constructed languages, or conlangs. From Esperanto to Tolkien's Elvish and Klingon and beyond, they explore the history of language invention, what distinguishes a fully fledged language from a simple code, and how conlangers build grammatical systems that evolve like natural languages. George also lays the foundation for what it takes to get started on creating one's own language from scratch.  00:00 - What Is a Conlang? 02:28 - "Real" Conlangs vs Fake Ones 11:34 - Early Conlang History 14:01 - Auxlangs and Esperanto 17:45 - Tolkien's Influence on Conlanging 23:12 - Conlangs in Film and TV 26:47 - Modern Conlang Community 28:36 - How to Start Conlanging 33:59 - How to Emulate Natural Language Evolution in Conlangs 36:21 - Irregularity and Exceptions 40:35 - Conclusion

In this episode, Ray and OED editor Fiona McPherson examine the tension between linguistic change and lexicographical authority. Rather than treating the dictionary as a static canon, they explore how expanding archives, quarterly updates, and human editorial judgment continuously reshape our understanding of a word's "first use." The conversation also unpacks the illusion of linguistic novelty, showing how seemingly modern terms often carry deeper histories built on classic patterns of English morphology. Also - did Henry Thoreau invent "brain rot"? (Spoiler: yes he did.) 

Today, we live in a world where text is, by default, punctuated. But the ubiquity of punctuation is a surprisingly recent development. Florence Hazrat traces its evolution from early writing systems, where individual words weren't even separated by spaces, to the Renaissance, when most of the punctuation marks in our modern repertoire emerged. The conversation explores punctuation's roles in religion, education, printing, and literature, from ancient Alexandria and medieval manuscripts to Emily Dickinson and modern texting. To buy Florence's excellent book On the Mark, click here.  To support Words for Granted and gain access to ad-free episodes, click here. 

In this episode, Ray and Jay discuss the question first raised by the 2000s indie rock band, Vampire Weekend: Who gives a f*** about an Oxford comma ? Their conversation covers the history, usage, and widespread cultural obsession surrounding the most controversial of all commas . Jay debunks many myths surrounding the Oxford comma's alleged usefulness while acknowledging many of the reasons why "Oxfordnistas" advocate for it . Ultimately, the discussion highlights how stylistic choices in writing are largely driven by personal preference rather than strict grammatical rules. You can buy Jay's book here. You can support Words for Granted on Patreon.

We all know English spelling is inconsistent, but some people have actually tried to change it. In this episode, Gabe Henry, author of Enough is Enuf, explores the historical crusade to make English spelling more "rational." The conversation highlights the reform efforts of figures like Noah Webster and Ben Franklin, alongside eccentric movements like the 19th-century "Phunny Phellows" and the Mormon Deseret Alphabet. Ultimately, they dive into why these phonetic revolutions fail and how our spelling shapes our cultural identity. To buy Gabe's book, click here. To support this podcast, click here.