ABC
A Word in Your Ear
Emeritus Professor Roly Sussex from the University of Queensland discusses the wonderful and odd aspects of English and many other languages.
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Episodes
A Word in Your Ear: Hello and Goodbye 17.02.2025 22:01
Whether you're meeting someone for the first time or you see them every day, the way we greet and farewell someone can say a lot about your culture, manners and familiarity to the other person.
A Word in Your Ear: Articulation & Speech Patterns 20.01.2025 22:50
It's an age old question: 'Haitch' or 'Aitch'? What do the differences in how we pronounce words say about us?
A Word in Your Ear: New Year & Christmas Alliteration 01.01.2025 18:27
Now that the festive season is done, its time to pack up the decorations, put away leftover wrapping paper and store this year's Christmas cards.
A Word in Your Ear: Giving & Philanthropy 20.11.2024 21:44
Roly Sussex explores the origins of giving, and words like philanthropy, donations and charity.
A Word in Your Ear: Acronyms & Initialisms 13.11.2024 22:09
What's the difference between Qantas and the ATO? Roly Sussex will take you into the strange world of acronyms and initialisms.
A Word in Your Ear: Americanisms 06.11.2024 23:36
Americanisms have had such an impact on our language that ABC's Roly Sussex has recorded over 10,000 of them.
A Word in Your Ear: Spooky Words 30.10.2024 25:53
Boo! From witches to wicca, Roly Sussex peeks behind the curtain of words like ghosts, spectres, Halloween and haunts.
A Word in Your Ear: The Language of Democracy 23.10.2024 23:25
With US elections on the horizon, Roly Sussex investigates the language of democracy.
A Word in Your Ear: Italian Cuisine 16.10.2024 25:11
It's the delicious language of Italy on the menu tonight.
A Word in Your Ear: Echo Phrases 09.10.2024 22:30
Are you feeling tip-top, hoity-toity or namby-pamby today? Roly investigates the curiosities of echo phrases.
A Word in Your Ear: Onomatopoeia 02.10.2024 25:42
Do dogs go "whoof, whoof", "ruff, ruff" or "wan, wan"? Roly Sussex explores the origins of onomatopoeia.
A Word in Your Ear: The Language of AFL 25.09.2024 22:35
What's the Aussie origins of the slang, jargon and banter of our nation's greatest footy code?
A Word in Your Ear: Mispronunciation & Mondegreens 18.09.2024 16:45
A "blessing in disguise" or a "blessing in the skies"? Roly Sussex dives into the elusive mondegreen.
A Word in Your Ear: Pirate Speak 11.09.2024 24:54
"Wut a way you" might sound like pirate speak, but it’s a common greeting on this Australian island.
A Word in Your Ear: French Influences on Cooking Words 04.09.2024 23:59
Who knows what sous vide is? What does being out of breath have to do with your soufflé?
A Word in Your Ear: The Language of Gen Alpha 28.08.2024 24:57
Two teenagers explain the nuances of "rizz", "no cap" and "sigma" to Professor Roly Sussex.
A Word in Your Ear: The Language of The News 21.08.2024 26:34
How has news language changed over the years? And why do news reporters say words in that fancy way?
A Word in Your Ear: Hedges and Politeness 14.08.2024 22:50
Do you ever "soften" your language to sound more polite? Roly Sussex explains "hedges", where English soften statements for pleasantry's sake.
A Word in Your Ear: Mispronunciations and Common Mistakes 07.08.2024 23:15
From mispronunciation to grammatical errors, Roly Sussex explores some of the common mistakes in English.
A Word in Your Ear: English's Newest Words 31.07.2024 18:31
The Cambridge Dictionary added 3200 new wods to their books last year. So what are they? Roly Sussex is your guide.
A Word in Your Ear: The French Language 23.07.2024 20:31
Bonjour! This week, Roly Sussex discusses the significance and evolution of the French language.
A Word in Your Ear: Metaphors 09.07.2024 25:26
We've hit the nail on the head! This week, Roly Sussex discusses the significance of metaphors in everyday language.
A Word in Your Ear: Manners and Politeness 02.07.2024 23:43
Please & Thank You! This week, Roly Sussex discusses how manners and gratitude are expressed differently around the world.
A Word in Your Ear: Grandparents and 'Cold Turkey' 26.06.2024 18:34
Marmee? Gram? Gramps? Papa? This week, Roly Sussex discusses the words we use for our older relatives.
A Word in Your Ear: Written vs Spoken Languages 19.06.2024 28:44
Are all written languages spoken? And are all spoken languages written?
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