serial.
Otherwords poster
Running · 2021–

Otherwords

History

Otherwords digs deep into this quintessential human trait of language and finds the fascinating, thought-provoking, and funny stories behind the words and sounds we take for granted. Incorporating the fields of biology, history, cultural studies, literature and more, linguistics has something for everyone and offers a unique perspective on what it means to be human

Track episodes, rate & review

Next on air

No next air date announced.

Seasons & episodes

Season 1 · 6 episodes
  1. S01 E01 · The Unexpected Origins of the Word ‘Monster'
  2. S01 E02 · What's the Longest Word?
  3. S01 E03 · Can Computers Really Talk? Or Are They Faking It?
  4. S01 E04 · What People Get Wrong About African-American English
  5. S01 E05 · Popular Words Invented by Authors
  6. S01 E06 · 60 Euphemisms for Death!
Season 2 · 10 episodes
  1. S02 E01 · Is Swearing Good for Your Brain?
  2. S02 E02 · Snowclones and Clichés and Memes, Oh My!
  3. S02 E03 · The Screwed-Up History of English Spelling
  4. S02 E04 · Pronouns: Little Words That Say A Lot
  5. S02 E05 · A Controversial Theory About Gossip
  6. S02 E06 · Foreign Words We Need in English
  7. S02 E07 · Is Bilingualism a Superpower?
  8. S02 E08 · The Stories Behind Food Names
  9. S02 E09 · Literally No One Likes a Grammar Cop
  10. S02 E10 · Why Sign Language Was Banned in America
Season 3 · 10 episodes
  1. S03 E01 · How Brands Ruin Slang
  2. S03 E02 · Is "R" a Vowel?
  3. S03 E03 · Where Alcoholic Drinks Got Their Names
  4. S03 E04 · How English Took Over the World
  5. S03 E05 · The Weird History of Invented Languages
  6. S03 E06 · How Queer Communities Created Secret Languages
  7. S03 E07 · What Brain Damage Reveals About Language
  8. S03 E08 · Why Does Texting Feel Different From Talking?
  9. S03 E09 · How the Colors Got Their Names
  10. S03 E10 · The Most Extreme Place Names
Season 4 · 11 episodes
  1. S04 E01 · How Language Nerds Solve Crimes
  2. S04 E02 · Why Do These Words Get Mispronounced So Much?
  3. S04 E03 · Is the Southern Accent Disappearing?
  4. S04 E04 · Why Do We Use Cringey Words for Loved Ones?
  5. S04 E05 · Why Do Baby Names Fall Out of Fashion?
  6. S04 E06 · How Cults Use Language to Control
  7. S04 E07 · Is Body Language Really A Language?
  8. S04 E08 · Why Is English Awash in Sailors' Jargon?
  9. S04 E09 · A Brief History of the Reading Wars?
  10. S04 E10 · Is English a Creole?
  11. S04 E11 · Is Bluey Giving Your Kid Australian Accent
Season 5 · 10 episodes
  1. S05 E01 · How Your Body Parts Got Their Names
  2. S05 E02 · How Languages Die
  3. S05 E03 · Why A.I. Struggles with Negative Words
  4. S05 E04 · Inside the Fiercest Debate in Linguistics
  5. S05 E05 · Where Did Cringey Corporate Jargon Come From?
  6. S05 E06 · The Mysterious Origins of Abracadabra and Other Magic Words
  7. S05 E07 · Is Social Media Censorship Unaliving Language?
  8. S05 E08 · Popular Word Origins That Are Totally WRONG.
  9. S05 E09 · Punctuation's Weird Backstory
  10. S05 E10 · The Subliminal Messages in Brand Names
Season 6 · 10 episodes
  1. S06 E01 · How K-Pop Is Changing Multiple Languages
  2. S06 E02 · Why "a Lie" is Hard to Define
  3. S06 E03 · Can Words Influence Our Perception of Time?
  4. S06 E04 · Why "Cool" Is the King of Slang
  5. S06 E05 · The Problem with Judges Acting Like Linguists
  6. S06 E06 · The English Language Has a Smelly Problem
  7. S06 E07 · Can the Government Control How We Speak?
  8. S06 E08 · The Surprising Controversy Around Baby Talk
  9. S06 E09 · How Fast Can a Word Change Its Meaning?
  10. S06 E10 · How Fast Can a Word Change Its Meaning?

TV data from TVmaze under CC BY-SA. Air dates follow the original broadcaster and may change.