How did our holidays become so 'corny'? Why do some words have accent marks in English? Cubby hole

How did our holidays become so 'corny'? Why do some words have accent marks in English? Cubby hole

1063. Why is it called "corned beef" when there’s no corn involved? We look at how the word "corn" evolved to mean different things over time. Then, we look at the role of accent marks in English — why some words keep them, why others lose them, and what they tell us about language.

The "corn" 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.

The "diacritic" segment was written by Karen Lunde, a former Quick & Dirty Tips editor and digital pioneer who's been spinning words into gold since before cat videos ruled the internet. She created one of the first online writing workshops, and she's published thousands of articles on the art of writing. These days, she leads personal narrative writing retreats and helps writers find their voice. Visit her at ChanterelleStoryStudio.com.

🔗 Share your familect recording in a WhatsApp chat.

🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.

🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter.

🔗 Take our advertising survey.

🔗 Get the edited transcript.

🔗 Get Grammar Girl books.

🔗 Join Grammarpalooza. Get ad-free and bonus episodes at Apple Podcasts or Subtext. Learn more about the difference.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475).

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

  • Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend
  • Director of Podcast: Brannan Goetschius
  • Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
  • Marketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina Tomlin
  • Digital Operations Specialist: Holly Hutchings
  • Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

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



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

Episoder(963)

148 How to Write Your First Novel

148 How to Write Your First Novel

How to Write Your First Novel Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

12 Des 20086min

012 Wordiness And Idioms

012 Wordiness And Idioms

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

21 Nov 20084min

146 Mixed Metaphors

146 Mixed Metaphors

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

13 Nov 20085min

144 Concrete Versus Cement

144 Concrete Versus Cement

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

7 Nov 20084min

141 Appositives

141 Appositives

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

17 Okt 20085min

140 Modifying Phrases at the Beginning of Sentences

140 Modifying Phrases at the Beginning of Sentences

Modifying Phrases at the Beginning of Sentences Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

10 Okt 20084min

139 Is "Data" Singular or Plural?

139 Is "Data" Singular or Plural?

Is "Data" Singular or Plural? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

3 Okt 20085min

136 Complex-Compound Sentences

136 Complex-Compound Sentences

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

19 Sep 20085min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
hanna-de-heldige
fryktlos
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
treningspodden
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
foreldreradet
jakt-og-fiskepodden
rss-mann-i-krise-med-sagen
rss-sunn-okonomi
dypdykk
sinnsyn
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
rss-kunsten-a-leve
hverdagspsyken
anlegg-og-sjau-med-lothepus-og-pilgaard
mikkels-paskenotter
doktor-fives-podcast