Otherwords

Words don't pop up fully formed... they evolve over thousands of years. What can we learn about our relationship to monsters by tracking the word down into the distant past? The Unexpected Origins of the Word ‘Monster’ (feat. Dr. Z)

Before we decide from a long list of contenders, we'll have to figure out what the word "word" really means...

Can Computers REALLY Talk? Or Are They Faking It? New advancements in technology are making it harder than ever to tell the difference between a computer and a human speaker... but what's going on under the hood? Is it really "language," or just a digital illusion?

It's one of the most studied — and most controversial — varieties of English. But many people still hold deep misconceptions about African-American English (AAE).

Authors often create words just for a one-time usage... but a special few will gain traction and become full-fledged parts of our shared lexicon! Otherwords is a new PBS web series on Storied that digs deep into this quintessential human trait of language and fınds the fascinating, thought-provoking, and funny stories behind the words and sounds we take for granted. Incorporating the fıelds of biology, history, cultural studies, literature, and more, linguistics has something for everyone and offers a unique perspective into what it means to be human.

No topic is as universally avoided--yet universally unavoidable--as DEATH. So, it's got a lot of euphemisms in virtually every language.