Corpse, Corps, Horse and Worse
99% Invisible28 Sep 2021

Corpse, Corps, Horse and Worse

When it comes to English spelling and pronunciation, there is plenty of rhyme and very little reason. But what is the reason for that? Why among all European languages is English so uniquely chaotic today?

To help us answer that question, we spoke with linguist and longtime friend of the show, Arika Okrent, author of the new book Highly Irregular: Why Tough, Through, and Dough Don't Rhyme and Other Oddities of the English Language. In it, Arika explores the origins of those phonetic paradoxes, and it turns out some of the reasons for confusion are as counterintuitive as the words themselves.

Corpse, Corps, Horse and Worse

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.

Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.


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

Avsnitt(780)

Roman Mars Describes Things As They Are

Roman Mars Describes Things As They Are

On this shelter-in-place edition of 99pi, Roman walks around his house and tells stories about the history and design of various objects Buy Beauty Pill Describes Things As They Are and all Beauty Pil...

17 Mars 202018min

Map Quests: Political, Physical and Digital

Map Quests: Political, Physical and Digital

The only truly accurate map of the world would be a map the size of the world. So if you want a map to be useful, something you can hold in your hands, you have to start making choices. We have to cho...

11 Mars 202041min

The Weather Machine

The Weather Machine

The weather can be a simple word or loaded with meaning depending on the context -- a humdrum subject of everyday small talk or a stark climactic reality full of existential associations with serious ...

3 Mars 202029min

Over the Road

Over the Road

At the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Kentucky, drivers from all over the country converge each year to show off their chrome and exchange stories, tips and gripes. One thing unites most in ...

26 Feb 202044min

Fraktur

Fraktur

If you have ever caught even one minute of the history channel, you have seen fraktur. You’ve seen the font on Nazi posters, on Nazi office buildings, on Nazi roadwork signs. Today in Germany, blackle...

19 Feb 202037min

Whomst Among Us Has Let The Dogs Out

Whomst Among Us Has Let The Dogs Out

The story of how “Who Let The Dogs Out” ended up stuck in all of our brains goes back decades and spans continents. It tells us something about inspiration, and how creativity spreads, and about wheth...

12 Feb 202038min

Missing the Bus

Missing the Bus

If you heard that there was a piece of technology that could do away with traffic jams, make cities more equitable, and help us solve climate change, you might think about driverless cars, or hyperloo...

5 Feb 202035min

The Worst Video Game Ever

The Worst Video Game Ever

Deep within the National Museum of American History’s vaults is a battered Atari case containing what’s known as “the worst video game of all time.” The game is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and it was ...

28 Jan 202026min

Populärt inom Business & ekonomi

framgangspodden
varvet
badfluence
rss-jossan-nina
rss-borsens-finest
rss-svart-marknad
svd-tech-brief
avanzapodden
uppgang-och-fall
fill-or-kill
rss-dagen-med-di
borsmorgon
lastbilspodden
rss-inga-dumma-fragor-om-pengar
rss-kort-lang-analyspodden-fran-di
kapitalet-en-podd-om-ekonomi
bathina-en-podcast
tabberaset
rss-den-nya-ekonomin
affarsvarlden