Why the heck does 'score' mean 20? How we subconsciously know how to pronounce different plurals.

Why the heck does 'score' mean 20? How we subconsciously know how to pronounce different plurals.

929. While we were looking into why we use the word "score" to mean "twenty," our minds were blown by how many languages still have remnants of a base-20 counting system. And then we learned the secret rules that explain why some plurals end with an "s" sound and others end with a "z" sound. It was quite a week!

| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/score-dogz/transcript

| The "score" segment was written by Susan K. Herman, a retired U.S. Government multidisciplined language analyst, analytic editor, and language instructor.

| The "Cats and Dogz" segment was written by Valerie Fridland, a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada in Reno and the author of "Like Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English." You can find her at valeriefridland.com

| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.

| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.

| Peeve Wars card game.

| Grammar Girl books.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

  • Audio engineer: Nathan Semes
  • Editor: Adam Cecil
  • Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
  • Marketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina Tomlin
  • Digital Operations Specialist: Holly Hutchings
  • Intern: Kamryn Lacy

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(967)

167 Dashes Versus Colons

167 Dashes Versus Colons

Dashes Versus Colons Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

23 Apr 20094min

166 Strunk and White

166 Strunk and White

Strunk and White Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

17 Apr 20095min

182 Are You Annoyingly Redundant?

182 Are You Annoyingly Redundant?

Are You Annoyingly Redundant? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

7 Apr 20095min

164 "One" Versus "You"

164 "One" Versus "You"

"One" Versus "You" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

3 Apr 20094min

177 Why Are British English and American English Different?

177 Why Are British English and American English Different?

Why Are British English and American English Different? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

3 Apr 20096min

162 How to Write a Great Blog Comment

162 How to Write a Great Blog Comment

How to Write a Great Blog Comment Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

20 Mar 20097min

161 "Use" Versus "Utilize"

161 "Use" Versus "Utilize"

"Use" Versus "Utilize" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

13 Mar 20094min

158 "Flammable" Versus "Inflammable"

158 "Flammable" Versus "Inflammable"

"Flammable" Versus "Inflammable" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

20 Feb 20095min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
hanna-de-heldige
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
fryktlos
treningspodden
foreldreradet
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
dypdykk
jakt-og-fiskepodden
rss-kunsten-a-leve
hverdagspsyken
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
sinnsyn
rss-sunn-okonomi
mikkels-paskenotter
gravid-uke-for-uke
branncast
rss-impressions-2
rss-var-forste-kaffe