VOA's Wordmaster: Exploring Language
Text & MP3 Files

2009

• 'Black Friday': A Busy Shopping Day for Sure, but a Murky Origin
• With E-mail, a Few More Keyboard Taps Now Could Save a Lot of Grief Later
• One Word, Two Opposite Meanings: Terms That Janus Would Have Loved
• Anyway, at the End of the Day, What Terms Annoy You in Conversation?
• Why Handwriting and Spelling Drills, Done in Isolation, Miss the Point
• Which Makes the Better Writer: the Hand or the Keyboard? Age Is a Part
• Remembering William Safire, 79, a Maven of the English Language
• 'How Are Yinz Doin?' Pittsburghers Ask; 'Huh?' G20 Leaders May Wonder
• To Make a Long Story Short: Summary Skills for Better Readers and Writers
• Smoothing Out English With Help From Sentence Pronunciation Rules
• Teaching to a New Generation of English Learners in Azerbaijan
• You Say LOLL, I say LOHL; Either Way, Emo Kids Won't Be Laughing Out Loud
• In Slang, More to a 'Buck' and Less to a 'Bromance' Than Meets the Eye
• Hitting a Sour Note: The Declining Happiness in Song Lyrics
• Getting a Read on World Happiness Through the Words of Bloggers
• You Do Not Have to Watch 'Star Trek' to Learn to Speak Klingon
• Feeling Limited by a Language? Here Is a Solution: Invent Your Own
• 'Ms.' Has a Longer History (or Herstory) Than You Might Think
• Drink the Corporate Kool-Aid? Not If You Want to Sit in the Catbird Seat
• Some Terms That Have Outlived Their Roots but Not Their Usefulness
• Exploring 'Myths and Misconceptions' of the English Language
• What Are Your Agenda for the Meeting? (What, Something Wrong With That?)
• Small Talk, American-Style; a Computer Language for Self-Expression
• Training Teachers in Places With Few Resources: Lesson From Burkina Faso
• How to Write an Essay? Here Is One Persuasive Argument
• English Teacher in Cameroon Sends a Positive Message About Texting
• Teacher Sees 'Big Push' to Promote English as a Foreign Language in UAE
• * No MP3 * English Teachers in Madagascar Give New Meaning to 'Going Green'
• To Catch On to Phrasal Verbs, It Helps to Hook Up With an English Teacher
• Hunting for the Snark in Sarcasm and Anonymous Expression on the Web
• Recession Spawns an Expanding Lexicon for a Shrinking Economy
• Moving Beyond 'It's This or It's This' in Discussing Controversial Topics
• Teaching Students How to Use Dialogue to Bridge Social Differences
• Wanna, Gonna, Hafta: Getting Relaxed With Reduced Forms of Speech
• US Hospitals, Courts Struggle With Growing Demand for Interpreters
• A Prenup: The (Legal) Language of Love for Couples About to Marry
• Words of Comfort for an Unfortunate Event Other Than a Death
• Remembering 2008 in a Word, 'Bailout,' and a Name, 'Barack Obama'

2008

• The Ballad of Palindrome (Riders in the Sky with Johnny Western)
• Want to Learn Some Slang? Let 'Hansel and Gretel' Show the Way
• Finding the Right Expression of Sympathy When Someone Is Grieving
• In Ads, the Right Language Means More Than Just the Words
• If All Else Fails at a Party, Throw Yourself on the Mercy of the Crowd
• 'National Day of Listening' Promoted; Listening to Stories of Poverty
• Learning Business English, and a Little Philosophy, in Tough Economic Times
• How Noah Webster's Dictionary Defined American English, and His Own Views
• A Few Words About Politics, From the First Name in American Dictionaries
• American English Hits a Homer When It Comes to Baseball-Related Idioms
• To Be a Good Teacher, 'You Have to Forget About All Your Problems'
• What Difference Does a Preposition Make? We'll Get Back at You
• How 'Mavericks,' 'Earmarks' Made Their Way From Cows and Pigs Into Politics
• Knowing the Lingo as Americans Cast Their Ballots, Absentee or Otherwise
• Special Edition: How 'Bailouts' and 'Golden Parachutes' Got Their Name
• Writing Prompt for Teens: What Issues Should Next US President Address?
• Handling Sensitive Topics in the Classroom? Want Some Legal Advice?
• When It Comes to Gesturing, Don't Believe Everything You Hear
• * No MP3 * A Trolley in a Grocery Store? Americans Would Reckon That's Crazy
• To Master Rhythms of English, You Really Hafta Learn Reductions
• Talking in Rhythm: How to Manage the Stresses of American English
• Think People Always Know When You Are Being Sarcastic? Don't Assume
• George Carlin, 1937-2008: He Found Irreverent Humor in Language
• Would a Top Banana Run Around Like a Chicken With Its Head Cut Off?
• Some Political Terms From the Mouths of Presidents (or Their Speechwriters)
• Looking for Red Meat Political Terms That Won't Bring a Hail of Dead Cats
• Once Upon a Time, a Girl Could Be a Boy, and to Worry Was to Choke
• A Lesson Plan, Ready in About a Minute? Free Web Site Is Ambitious
• This Is an English Class, Yet Even the Moroccan Is Speaking Spanish
• In Pakistan, a Big Push to Teach English; Local Versions Flourish
• In Angola, Education Ministry Aims to Expand Teaching of English
• US Campaign Offers Lesson for an English Teacher Who Left Iran
• Teaching English in Syria: For Some, a Job Is a Matter of Karma
• An English Professor Who Found a Calling in Web Accessibility
• Step Two in Writing a College Essay: Don't Think It's a College Essay
• Step One to a Personal Statement for College: Make Sure It's Personal
• American Political Lingo, and a Candidate With Name Recognition
• What Is the Story of Your Life? Please Summarize in Six Words
• Key to a Better Accent in English? Students Say It's in the Music
• How to Reduce an Accent? First, Understand Just What an Accent Is
• Trying to Get a Grip on Gestures? Here Is a Handy Book
• Annotation and Other Tips for Getting the Most Out of Textbooks
• Looking Between the Covers for a Lesson in Textbook Intimacy
• Between Hello and Goodbye, Learning the Rules of Telephone Etiquette
• An Earl and a Whirl: How Sandwiches and Jacuzzi Baths Got Their Names
• Meeting Some People Whose Names Went on to Become Household Items
• Creating an Online Community for Trainers of English Teachers

2007

• Five New Year's Resolutions for Learners to Improve Their English
• Words of 2007, From 'Surge' to 'Left of Boom' to 'E-Mail Bankruptcy'
• A Fast Way to Make Yourself a Better Understood Speaker? Slow Down
• Take a Deep Breath: Tips on Preparing for an Oral Presentation
• Talking Dictionaries on Web Offer an Earful of Pronunciations
• Meet a Labor Lawyer Whose Labor of Love Is Writing About Slang
• Compounding Makes All the Difference Between a Black Bird and a Blackbird
• Group Led by Seattle Writer Promotes Good (Not Perfect) Grammar
• What Aphorists Have to Say About the Cultures That Produced Them
• Aphorisms: How a Few Words Can Speak Volumes About Life and Living
• How to Use Small Talk to Build a Bridge to the Heart of a Conversation
• Writer Says Bias Against Sayers of 'Um' May Have Been Stoked by, Uh, Radio
• No Need to Freak Out About Some Idioms, Even in More Formal Contexts
• Dude! Check Out Some of the Most Common Slang in Popular Speech
• Why Some Speeches Just Float Away on the Air and Others Stick in Our Minds
• Wise Writing Instead of '-Wise' Writing: Looking for Beauty in Words
• New Books Cast Cinderella, Other Fairy Tale Stars as Language Teachers
• Program Moves Online to Train Teachers in Global English
• In America, Struggling for the 'Correct' Terminology to Discuss Disabilities
• Showing Students That Good Writing Matters, and Not Just in English Class
• Hypercorrection Is Not Simply Being Fussy or a Nitpicker or a Pedant
• Sprinkling a Few Prepositions Into Speech to Sound More Natural
• The Long and Short of Cornering the Market in Global Finance Lingo
• How a Handshake Can Say a Lot About You in Business Communication
• Inside the Mind of a Stand-Up Comic Vying for Title of 'Funniest Fed'
• Grasping Roots as a Way to Understand Words and Build Vocabulary
• What Does Ecology Mean to You? No, Really, How Do You Define It?
• Saving the World, or at Least Understanding What Ecologists Mean
• When Netspeak Enters Formal Writing, Teachers Are Anything but LOL
• In Moldova, as Demand for English Grows, Teachers Try Best They Can
• Think 'Uh Huh' and 'Unh Unh' Sound Alike? Then You'll Be Saying 'Oops!'
• Teaching English in Central Asia: The View From Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan
• When Conflicts Follow Young Immigrants to School in a New Land
• English Teaching in the Arab World: Insights From Iraq and Libya
• How to Make a Fashion Statement in a World of 'Voguespeak,' Muffin Tops
• He Shoots, He Scores; She Shoots, She Scores. 'Slam Dunk' Terms Resound
• The More Quotations Change, It Seems, the More They Remain the Same
• Getting in Tune With Spoken English Means Thinking in Thought Groups
• Smoothing Out English With Help From Sentence Pronunciation Rules
• I Luv U, Do U Luv Me? Relating in the Techno Age; the Mystery of XOX
• Centuries Later, the Bard of Avon Still Makes His Mark on American English
• Pluto Is Reborn as a Verb, While Surge Becomes a 'Hot-Button Word'
• How Learning a Second Language Inhibits the First, at Least Temporarily
• 'House' or 'Home'? 'Friendlier' or 'More Friendly'? The Web Offers Answers
• Wanna, Gonna, Hafta: Getting Relaxed With Reduced Forms in Speech

2006

• Terms to Chew Over: 'Hansel and Gretel' Like You've Never Heard It
• Helping Students to 'Step Out of Apathy': A Lesson From the Holocaust
• At a Party, If All Else Fails, Throw Yourself on the Mercy of the Crowd
• Slang in the World of Hooky Bulls, Businessman's Events and Dirt Baths
• Teaching English in Russia: Insights From Two Generations of Teachers
• Teachers of English in Russia Feeling Winds of Change in Their Profession
• Hey You, in the Next Cube, Is That Document Buzzword-Compliant?
• Heated Words: Lingo of the Men and Women Who Fight Wildfires
• 'National Punctuation Day': Seeking to Put a (Full) Stop to Poor Writing
• Using Language Technology to Help Learners With Accent Reduction
• A 'Dialect Nomad' Goes in Search of Changes in American English
• 'Islamofascism': Dusting Off an Old Name for a New Form of Extremism
• Getting Into the Writing Game, With Words of Advice From a Coach
• Understanding the Reasons for Grammar, Not Just Learning the Rules
• Listening to the Sound of Words for Subtle Clues to Their Meaning
• Learning English by Listening, Um, to How People, Uh, Really Speak It
• 'Shifting Sands' of English Teaching Bring Changes to Schools in Middle East
• Economists Pursue Happiness by Asking Americans How They Feel
• How a Child's Ability to Learn Language Figures Into the Immigration Issue
• To Make a Long Story Short: Summary Skills for Better Readers and Writers
• Morocco's New Way to Teach English Proves Popular, at Least With Students
• Two Places, One Pursuit: English Teaching in Nepal and Afghanistan
• In Choice of Immigration Terms, Some Say Focus on the Act, Not the Actor
• What Does It Mean When Something Is 'For Good' or Offered 'On a Plate'?
• Like It or Not, a Discourse Marker Making Its Mark on a Wider Stage
• Forget 'Chicken' and 'Egg,' What Comes First With 'After' and 'Before'?
• * No MP3 * 'The Meaning of Tingo': One Man's Favorite Words, From 254 Languages
• Lost for Words? Here Are Some Tips to Remember About Improving Memory
• How 'The Thing' Has Entered the Language of People in New Orleans
• Tribes in California Attempt to Preserve Native American Dialects
• Concise and Precise: A Way to Force People to Think Before They Write
• Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today
• F-u-n With Broadway's 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'
• Stagecraft: Acting Like an Actor to Improve Your Memory
• You're Wearing That? Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation
• An English Learner Is in a Jam Over What to Call Slow-Moving Traffic
• Teaching Older People to Become Better Listeners to Avoid Alienating Others
• When There Is Bad News, Helping Cancer Doctors Find the Right Words
• Self-Instruction: Five New Year's Resolutions for English Learners
• What Do 'Refugee,' 'Jump the Couch' and 'Spokesweasel' Have in Common?

2005

• 'Merry Christmas' vs. 'Happy Holidays': More Than a Simple Choice of Words
• New Standards Aim to Strengthen Curriculum for English Learners in U.S.
• T Is for Trouble: Consonants Lead to Dissonance for an English Learner
• Front Matter Matters: How to Start a Relationship With Your Dictionary
• What Does It Say About You if Your Doppelganger Is Facinorous?
• A Guide to Writing, Now Illustrated: Stylish New Look for 'Elements of Style'
• Small Talk: Think of It as an 'Appetizer' for a Full Meal of Conversation
• In Oregon, 'Heritage Speakers' of Farsi Get to Learn From a Young Native
• Getting Ready for the Speaking Section on the New TOEFL
• The Test of English as a Foreign Language Gets a Makeover
  
• Literary Voice: Don't Parrot Cliches, but Do Read, Read, Read
• We're Americans, We're Not Refugees
• Language From the Sea, and Still Fresh After All These Years
• If You Could Care Less About Common Errors in English ...
• How a Secret-But-Not-So-Secret Code Let Women in China Share Hardships
• Does It Matter if Stocks 'Climb' Rather Than 'Bounce Back'?
• Talking to Teens (and Getting a Reply)
• Gerunds vs. Infinitives, Part 2
• Gerunds vs. Infinitives, Part 1
• Language of Showbiz
• Speaking of Alabama, Part 2
• Speaking of Alabama, Part 1
• Emotion in Words
• Hawaiian Language, Part 2
• Hawaiian Language, Part 1
• U.S. Academic Writing Style, Part 2
• U.S. Academic Writing Style, Part 1
• Do You Speak American?
• Audience Mail
• Meet Two More English Teachers
• Compounding in English
• Pronunciation of North American English
• Meet Two Young English Teachers
• Conversational Styles and Sports
• * No MP3 * Memory Improvement
• Interview with an English Learner in Iran
• Linguistic Profiling
• Greetings in the U.S.
• Emotion Words
• Pretentious Language
• Internet Terms
• Questions About Pronunciation and Style
• Interview with William Labov: Sound Change, Part 2
• Interview with William Labov: Sound Change, Part 1
• * No MP3 * Top 10 Words Looked Up Online in 2004

2004

• Lida Baker: Five New Year's Resolutions for English Learners
• Pronunciation, Part 2
• Pronunciation, Part 1
• College Slang
• * No MP3 * Lida Baker: Compliments in American English
• Proverbs in American English, Part 2
• Proverbs in American English, Part 1
• * No MP3 * English Classes for Hmong Immigrants in Minnesota
• Creative Writing, Part 2
• Creative Writing, Part 1
• Lida Baker: Crafting a Complaint
• Language of Broadway
• Native American Influence on English
• Presidential Voices
• Epigram Writer
• Wordcount.org
• Hatchet Jobs & Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang
• Linguistic Diversity in Action
• Lida Baker: Present Perfect Tense
• Confusing Synonyms and Confounding Political Terms
• Infowalker
• Baseball in American English
• Lida Baker: Common Sentence Errors
• Hip-Hop Slang
• Language Map of the United States
• Americanrhetoric.com
• Getting a Job, Part 2: The Interview
• Getting a Job, Part 1: Resume and Cover Letter
• Carnival Jargon
• * No MP3 * Lida Baker: Voiced and Voiceless Sounds in English
• 'Your Own Words' by Barbara Wallraff
• Easy English Times
• Meet the English Teachers
• * No MP3 * 'Logic Made Easy' by Deborah Bennett
• April 1, 2004 - TESOL Teacher (A repeat from 2001, so not included here.)
• TESOL Convention
• Future of English
• Hypercorrection
• * No MP3 * Lida Baker: Keyword Method as a Memory Aid
• Adjectives
• Slang Flashcards
• Helen Fisher: 'Why We Love'
• Political Rhetoric in America, Part 2
• Political Rhetoric in America, Part 1
• Lida Baker: Phrasal Verbs
• Word of 2003

2003

• 'Spider Hole' and Other Iraq War Terms
• RepeatAfterUs.com
• * No MP3 * Vocabulary of Marriage
• * No MP3 * Thanks for the Grammar, Mom!
• * No MP3 * Listener Mail
• The Evasion English Dictionary
• American National Corpus
• Origin of 'Murphy's Law'
• Slangman: A Really Bad Day
• Wall Street Words
• Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language
• Lida Baker: Thought Groups in Spoken English
• Field Guide to Gestures
• Slangman: Food-Related Slang / 'Jack and the Beanstalk'
• Listener Mail
• Lida Baker: Informality in the Classroom
• Maritime-Related Terms
• * No MP3 * Slangman: Energy-Related Slang
• Sound of Silence
• Listener Mail
• Patricia O'Conner: 'Woe Is I'
• Chicago Manual of Style
• Slangman: Names Used in Slang
• 11th Edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
• English in Early America
• Lida Baker: Encouraging English Learners to Talk in Class, Part 2
• Lida Baker: Encouraging English Learners to Talk in Class, Part 1
• Advertising to Latinos
• International Newcomers' Academy
• Slangman: Insults
• Imagination in Writing
• Cursing in America
• 'The Language Police,' Part 2
• 'The Language Police,' Part 1
• Pronunciation in American English
• War in American English
• Word Bursts
• Lida Baker: War and English Teaching
• Rhetoric of War
• Slangman: Stress-Related Terms
• Listener Mail
• Anu Garg: A.Word.A.Day
• Listener Mail
• Lida Baker: Linking and Blending
• Relationship Names
• Trademarking 'Freedom of Expression'
• Slangman: Hand-Related Terms
• Deborah Tannen: Fast Talk
• Lida Baker: Reduced Forms
• Sentence Structure

2002

• American vs. British English
• Campus Slang
• Excuses
• Rap Freestyling
• Writing Thank-You Notes
• Law and Language
• Lida Baker: Listener Questions
• Slangman: Political Terms ('Cinderella')
• Listener Mail
• Allen Walker Read / 'O.K.'
• Who's on First?
• Lida Baker: Names in America
• Wordtree Reverse Dictionary
• Memory Improvement
• Predicting New Words
• Finding Words for Sept. 11, Part 2
• Finding Words for Sept. 11, Part 1
• Grammar Lady: Only One You
• Web Accessibility
• Lida Baker: Exceptional Verbs
• Maritime Terms in Everyday English
• Slangman: Corporate Crime
• TOEFL
• Medical Interpreters
• Lida Baker: Modals
• Slangman: Whimsy
• Grammar Lady: Listener Mail
• Spider-Related Expressions
• Lida Baker: Making a Request
• Persuasion and Resistance
• Weasel Words
• 'Lower 48 States' and 'Synergy' Explained
• Slangman: Construction-Related Terms ('The Three Little Pigs')
• English Teaching Starts Earlier
• 'Minority' and 'AHANA'
• Lida Baker: Pronouncing 'th'
• New Words
• 'Kangaroo Court,' 'Big Apple'
• Slangman: Bird Terms ('The Ugly Duckling')
• Language of Electronic Mail
• Lida Baker: Using a Dictionary
• * No MP3 * Biathlon
• Learning English Online
• * No MP3 * Lida Baker: Acquiring Vocabulary
  
• * No MP3 * Words of 2001
  
• Bicycle Messenger Slang (16:38)

2001

• Slangman: Health Slang ('Hansel and Gretel')
• Junk English (6:14)
• Lida Baker: Stress in American English
• English Teachers Convention, Part 2
• English Teachers Convention, Part 1
• Supreme Court Dictionary Use
• Telephone Etiquette
• Slangman: Old Slang ('Little Red Riding Hood')
• TESOL Teacher
• Grammar Lady: Listener Mail
• Language of Terror, Part 2
• Language of Terror, Part 1
• How America Got Its Name, Part 2
• How America Got Its Name, Part 1
• Gossip
• Race Terms (8:12)
• Peace Terms
• Military Terms in Civilian Use
• Cliches
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• The source of the original pre-edited material is www.voanews.com/wordmaster.
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    is public domain. However, some images and graphics are licensed for use and
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• Though the source material was in the public domain, I have done some editing. If you need the public domain version of any of these stories, please visit http://voanews.com/specialenglish/.

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