Language

A new study set out to find whether people responded differently to the presence or absence of political hashtags in news stories in major publications. Study co-author Eugenia Ha Rim Rho is with us… Audio

Earlier this week there were reports all over news sites that the Apostrophe Protection Society - an organisation set up to preserve the correct use of this currently much abused punctuation mark -… Audio

Existential has been chosen as word of the year 2019. What would be your word of the year and why? Audio

Kathryn meets Dr Corinne Seals, a senior lecturer in Applied Linguistics and Language Studies at Victoria University, who has been researching how to help multilingual pre-schoolers improve their… Audio, Gallery

The diversity of the world's languages is seriously under threat. One language is reported to fall silent every fortnight, and it's believed that by the end of this century half of the world's 7,000… Audio

Kathryn talks with kaumatua Haare Williams about a lifetime of telling Maori stories. He is a poet and artist, has written for film and television, a former broadcaster, the Dean of Maori Education… Audio

Running away to join the circus is a dream for many, but for Kiwi theatre performer Thom Monckton it's been an absolute reality. Thom's based in Helsinki but is Calling Home is currently touring his… Audio

How many times have you been typing with serious intent without watching the screen, only to realise you've had the caps lock key on? Writer Daniel Colin James is arguing the case that the caps lock… Audio

RNZ Youth Issues reporter Katie Doyle helps to explain the term "Ok Boomer" used by Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick during her speech in Parliament. Audio

Mobile grammarian Ellen Jovin joins the show for an update on her Grammar Table tour across the United States and to offer her take on the Associated Press assertion that the hyphen is a thing of the… Audio

Author Graeme Lay says it's misleading for people to accuse Captain James Cook as being an imperialist and a destroyer of cultures, when he was largely revered by Maori in New Zealand.  Audio

There is a definite method to the madness when it comes to the language used in Nigerian scam emails. Deborah Schaffer is a professor of English at MSU Billings and has researched the role of language… Audio

The inaugural National Pun Battle finalist Jeremy Warne explains to Jesse how the competition is run and what the audience can expect at the event on Saturday night. Audio

A longitudinal study of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in the US has discovered surprising insights into the impact speaking many languages has on a person's likelihood of developing dementia. The… Audio

People get fired up when it's suggested the name of their town is changed - so what's involved in re-naming a place?  Audio

Mike Insley began learning Mandarin when he and his wife moved to China to work in a winery in the remote region of Ningxia in 2015. He's brushing up on his Mandarin skills as part of the NZ Chinese… Audio

Auckland Mayoral candidate John Tamihere says that he doesn't regret his use of a Nazi slogan during a Mayoral Debate and that groups had no right to be his thought police. Audio

Following Māori language week, there's real momentum behind the idea of compulsory te reo in schools. But how have similar schemes from overseas played out? Audio