Vonnegut’s semicolon rule. What age has to do with language. Chocolate donut.

Vonnegut’s semicolon rule. What age has to do with language. Chocolate donut.

1112. This week, we look at why you can safely ignore Kurt Vonnegut’s famous advice about ignoring semicolons. We also look at why taking punctuation advice from fiction writers may not be a good idea for business writing. Then, we look at how major life events, not age, change how you speak as you get older.

The age segment was 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.

🔗 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: Holly Hutchings
  • Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
  • Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian

| 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(964)

120 He Said, She Said

120 He Said, She Said

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

25 Jul 20083min

118 Writing Accents and Dialects

118 Writing Accents and Dialects

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

18 Jul 20085min

123 How to Avoid Clichés

123 How to Avoid Clichés

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

15 Jul 20085min

116 "Than I" Versus "Than Me"

116 "Than I" Versus "Than Me"

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

10 Jul 20087min

114 Phrasal Verbs

114 Phrasal Verbs

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

4 Jul 20086min

113 Writing with Slang

113 Writing with Slang

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

27 Jun 20084min

110 When to Leave Out "That"

110 When to Leave Out "That"

When to Leave Out "That" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

6 Jun 20086min

108 Whose for Inanimate Objects

108 Whose for Inanimate Objects

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

23 Mai 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-sunn-okonomi
dypdykk
sinnsyn
rss-mann-i-krise-med-sagen
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
hverdagspsyken
rss-kunsten-a-leve
mikkels-paskenotter
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
gravid-uke-for-uke
doktor-fives-podcast