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Words, words, words: A look at style guides and Britishisms in American English

FILE: A close up image of the word "language" in a dictionary.
Daniel Grill
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Getty Images

Listen live Tuesday at 1 p.m.

This hour, a look at words and usage and grammar and language and all that fun stuff.

Have you noticed how we Americans have become “so bloody keen on Britishisms?” Ben Yagoda joins us to talk about his new book, Gobsmacked! The British Invasion of American English.

Plus, there’s been an update to The Chicago Manual of Style, its first in seven years. We take a look at the CMOS, in particular, and bang on (there it is again!) about dreaded style guides, in general.

GUESTS:

  • Scott Huler: The author of seven non-fiction books; his most recent is A Delicious Country: Rediscovering the Carolinas along the Route of John Lawson’s 1700 Expedition
  • Ben Yagoda: The author, coauthor, or editor of 14 books and the host of the podcast The Lives They’re Living

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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Jonathan is a producer for ‘The Colin McEnroe Show.’ His work has been heard nationally on NPR and locally on Connecticut Public’s talk shows and news magazines. He’s as likely to host a podcast on minor league baseball as he is to cover a presidential debate almost by accident. Jonathan can be reached at jmcnicol@ctpublic.org.