Up Next
Back to Show
Otherwords
Why Do We Use Cringey Words for Loved Ones?
Season 4
Episode 4
Why do we use such unusual words for the people we love? From baby to bunny, two thirds of American adults refer to their romantic partners by a pet name. And we’ve been doing this for a long time—the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary traces terms of endearment over a thousand years. But where do all these pet names come from?
Support Provided By
Season
6:21
Children are sponges for language acquisition. Which leads us to ask the question: how much does TV
6:51
We already know that English borrows from everybody, but can it be considered a Creole language?
8:35
How do you teach children to read? This question is at the heart of a decades-long battle.
8:11
The English language is chock full of sailing jargon but why is that?
8:58
How do we communicate without words? With our bodies. Body language!
10:58
What is the best tool for cult leaders to control other people? It’s the power of language.
7:14
Headlines have sprung up all over declaring that the Southern American dialect is on its way out.
7:33
Let’s dig deep and find out why certain names simply fall out of fashion.
8:32
There are many words you say incorrectly but don’t know you are saying incorrectly.
8:59
Linguists use language everyday to solve crimes. Let’s take a look the most famous ones!
7:11
Join us as we find out how certain places got their names.
6:29
So how did we get those names of colors?