Harmonious dialogs - The Word Nerds

Common advice for podcasters is to have more than one voice on the show. When podcasts contain conversations, they are easier to follow. As much as this is true, there is, in my opinion, also a trap: making the dialog work. If the participants are completely free, they may start rambling and the conversation becomes tedious. What many podcasts with more than one host do is to script the dialog between the hosts. This more often than not is so artificial, it does more harm than good.

Here I wish to highlight the podcast The Word Nerds that has always more than one host (sometimes up to four) and has perfect dialogs. I have always been wondering whether these dialogs were scripted. The speakers collaborate so well, that some scripting must be at work, but then again it also sounds so natural, it can't be entirely acted. Then, in the last show (about Writing) a real discussion arose. For the first time it really appeared that the dialog was not scripted at all. The hosts just have a splendid rapport and in this harmony an excellent podcast emerges.

The Word Nerds is more than a light show about 'language and why we say the things we do'. It is also an example of a good amateur podcast. Apart from the excellent dialog the show is an example of good balance between sections, between talk and music, good audio quality and an altogether pleasant atmosphere that makes one connect to a show.

Previous reviews of The Word Nerds on this blog:
Word Nerds on Facebook,
Abrrev & txt,
Stories and Story Telling,
Debate,
Ambiguity and linguistic tics,
Syntax.

The Word Nerds on Facebook

This cyber-age in which everybody is networking through the internet, it is inevitable the practice leads to new vocabulary. Necessarily it is a matter of time, language podcasters such as The Word Nerds, pay attention to the new lingo.

It seems to me that the greatest hype of networking currently is Twitter, but in their show about Social Networking (#115) the greatest amount of the Nerds' interest goes to Facebook - a good number two in the range of social sites, I guess. The reason for this is not in the least the Nerds are heavy Facebook users themselves. As a consequence, the initial part of the show is mostly about the use of Facebook, rather than the vocabulary. When they finally get to it, the listener will learn, among others, new meanings for verbs like to peep and to stalk.

The Word Nerds podcast has a page of its own on Facebook, though their own site also has a forum where the audience can socialize. It is an example I try to emulate. For Anne is a Man, there is also a blog network page on Facebook and the forum is shared with Dara's and Baxter's blog at The Podcast Parlor. And even on Twitter, I can be followed.

Previous reviews of The Word Nerds on this blog:
Abrrev & txt,
Stories and Story Telling,
Debate,
Ambiguity and linguistic tics,
Syntax.

Abrrev & txt - The Word Nerds podcast review

The Word Nerds have gotten back on track with regularly releasing podcast and what is more, they are also getting back at their old amazing quality being informative, light, entertaining and delivering a very cosy atmosphere.

Also, the nerd that had long been absent from the show: Michael Chang was recently back on the show. "The rumors of my demise (from the show) were greatly exaggerated," he quotes and procedes to contribute his research in the modern abbreviations to the show Abrrev & txt. Abbreviations are of all times and Chang wouldn't be the classicist he is, if he wouldn't kick the subject off with the abbreviations used by the Romans. But soon it is fast forward to the present.

I was expecting that the nerds would speak also of the need for abbreviation in SMS, but mostly the entertained the talk of IM. My favorite abbreviation was KPC for Keep Parents Clueless. It goes to show the nerds are teachers in their day jobs. The rude word of the week could be guessed at the beginning of the show: WTF. LOL!

Previous reviews of TWN on this blog:
Stories and Story Telling,
Debate,
Ambiguity and linguistic tics,
Syntax,
Prosody.

Word Nerds on stories and story telling - podcast review

The Word Nerds, David and Howard Shepherd, went to a story telling festival in Jonesborough Tennessee and reported from the scene in their latest podcast, #108 about stories and story telling.

They discussed their own relationship with story-telling, which turns out to be a family issue. So they were brought up with stories they call the Jack Tales and the Grandfather Tales, which have roots in both England as well as the Appalachians. And they have a history of attending the story telling festival in Tennessee. In the podcast, they tell what they have listened to, less about the specific stories and more about the story tellers. A lot of names to follow-up on, if you believe the recommendations of the Word Nerd brothers.

Is podcast a form of story telling as well? Tentatively Dave and Howard ponder the question and if they lean to agree, I might suggest to say no. There are podcasts that are used to tell stories, or that seem to fit in with the old oral traditions of mankind, I feel that the majority of podcasts are still an attempt at radio, which is more of audio newspaper and magazine style. It takes a much more careful definition of story telling, oral tradition, media and another ten years of podcast evolution to bring more light into the question. In the mean time, podcasters will be addressing their audiences, that picked them in traditional as well as innovative ways.

Previous reviews of TWN on this blog:
Debate,
Ambiguity and linguistic tics,
Syntax,
Prosody,
Rhetoric.

The Word Nerds in debate

The most surprising tale in The Word Nerds about debate was what Barbara Shepherd told. When she wanted to be an actress, debating was part of her training. It was the part she hated, she just wanted to be on the stage and not in the debating competition.



There has already been several TWN issues about rhetoric, so the step to formal debating was not large. David Shepherd repeated the old tale about the Kennedy-Nixon debate. And this goes to show that your appearance is just as important as your debating qualities.



The radio listeners thought Nixon had won, the TV viewers pointed at Kennedy as the winner. It was just that Kennedy looked better. In the visualized age, that can be so much more important. It makes you think twice about podcasts. Yet, The Words Nerds as a podcast is splendid, even without the good looks.



Previous reviews of TWN on this blog:

Ambiguity and linguistic tics,

Syntax,

Prosody,

Rhetoric,

Silence and Speechlessness.

The Word Nerds - Language podcast review

The Word Nerds rapidly put out two excellent episodes last month. In stead of publishing one month apart, the issues came out within the span of a week: Show #105 Ambiguity and show #106, Linguistic Tics.

Both of them show what The Word Nerds do best. They leisurely tackle the 'nerdy' linguistic issue and build around it a forty minute show which is both entertaining and informative. They explain the subject, tell some relevant tidbits, relate some stuff they associate in the most natural tone. Then there is good music and the spicy rubric fo the 'Rude word of the Week'.

It is such a pleasure to listen to and the shows flow so freely, you hardly notice what hard work must have been put in. I cannot figure out whether the Nerds script their show, or do some fierce mixing or they interact so smoothly that the talk comes out as clear and connected as it does in the final result on the iPod. Great show on language and a great show by content and production result.

Previous reviews of TWN on this blog:
Syntax,
Prosody,
Rhetoric,
Silence and Speechlessness,
Religious Words.

Syntax - TWN review

When the Word Nerds spoke of syntax in their last episode, they struck an apologetic tone. Sorry about using the word 'syntax', we mean word order, the way we build a sentence. They seem to be under the impression syntax is too technical a term for school kids and the wide public. Apparently it hasn't occurred to them, or they just do not know, for a whole segment in the public and among the school kids, syntax is a word they know from computer programming and scripting. You have to get your syntax right, otherwise the compiler won't accept the code.

A charming highlight in the program is when Dave reads from the classic A Visit from Saint Nicholas by Clement Clark Moore:
"As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too."

How does the syntax allow for those last four words? Similarly the syntax of a line in Beowulf is discussed. Syntax used for a cliffhanger.

The Word Nerds are now sponsored by audible.com. This is a new trend I see among podcasts: sponsoring. More and more podcasts rake in sponsoring contracts that cover some of their expenses. This is yet another signal how podcasting is becoming more and more professional. TWN has always been very professional as far as the content is concerned, as are many others; this additional professionalism is all about dealing with the costs. As a listener, aside from the sponsor announcement, you are confronted with the sponsoring in the core of the show, because the sponsor and its offers including a prize to win are being discussed. Fill out the survey and you might get an iPod for free, nice, but I hope the Word Nerds will not let audible change their show any further.

Previous reviews of TWN on this blog:
Prosody,
Rhetoric,
Silence and Speechlessness,
Religious Words,
Nicknames.

Prosody -TWN podcast review

For a long time I haven't paid attention to The Word Nerds, the language podcast. It doesn't come out so frequently, less than a month and I have been concentrating on history podcasts in the past months. The Word Nerds, however, is one of my all time favorite podcasts. The makers have turned really nerdy language subjects into wonderfully entertaining shows of radio quality.

This happened again in the last edition with the subject prosody. That word, to begin with, is for me a term I have to look up, but did not need to as it was so well explained on the show. Prosody is about how we 'sing' our language; how we make pauses, emphasis, intonations and all such methods that make natural language sound natural, as opposed to computer voices, for example, that even today, still, sound very artificial.

It is also with prosody, that show hosts Dave and Barbara discussed the metrum and various rhythmic schemes in poetry. I remember this stuff from high school and at the time it sounded all so artificial, over the top and far out. I have grown up by now and I got the sympathetic and less threatening introduction by Dave, and this allowed me to open up and not only get stuff like iambic verse, but also recognize and appreciate it. Now that is The Word Nerds for you!

Previous reviews of TWN on this blog:
Rhetoric,
Silence and Speechlessness,
Religious Words,
Nicknames,
Public Speaking.

A Rhetorics Series by The Word Nerds

Excitement struck when TWN took up Rhetoric, I couldn't wait to write about it. I turned out, this was part of a series and the second part was going to have to wait. Only now, this second part has come out, so I was all set to listen again and go write, when we hit a snag.

By old fashioned tradition, rhetoric is part of language education. It may come with philosophy, but not, to my surprise, in a law school. At least not in mine. So I feel I have a little gap here that has been waiting to be filled. I may not have to be alone - many more people are missing out. Yet we are submitted to rhetoric, Scot Limbaugh and Micheal Moore were mentioned on the show. The other day I saw a discussion about Obama's oratory qualities pass by, cherished and criticized at the same time.

Howard Shepherd is the specialist. He used to travel for an Academic Publisher and reminisces about selling 'Classical rhetoric for the modern student' and reveals the tongue in cheek mangling of this title. And here is what makes TWN such a superb podcast, where is succeeds in educate and entertain at the same time. It is the first time they took a subject and spread it out over more than one episode. I thought it was going to be two, but now it turns out to be three. I did not want to wait with the review, because this is great stuff. I want to encourage you to start listening. And the last chapter will still have to wait.

Previous reviews of TWN on this blog:
Silence and Speechlessness,
Religious Words,
Nicknames,
Public Speaking,
Transitions.

Silence and Speechlessness

The Word Nerds is a podcast about language and naturally normally deals with how we communicate in words and sentences. Communication can be non-verbal also, one tends to forget. Not the Word Nerds and consequently they already had a show about nonverbal communication a long time ago. In their recent show, they took this attention a step further and spoke of speechlessness and of silence.

Silence can be very effective in language and they proceed to show this with examples. For me the most impressive silence are the moments of silence taken for commemoration. For the dead of war, for the victims of 9/11 and such. Most impressive are those in Israel.

There is the silence of Yom Kippur, when the whole country comes to a halt and for city dwellers such as myself, the background hum of traffic comes to a stop and during the day there is the silence of the dead of night, more so than on an average night. Other silences are those of remembrance far fallen soldiers, terrorist victims and on the holocaust remembrance day. Even on the highway people stand still. They stop their cars and stand in silence next to them.

Religious Words

In the latest edition of the Word Nerds Dave and Barbara Shepherd discuss religious vocabulary that is featured in profane language. They relate how an evangelist is any bringer of good news, not just the gospel. A bible has become any kind of heavily thumped handbook, or reference guide. Needless to say, the references are mostly Christian, though I could have thought of some others. Next to paradise we could have had Mecca in a similar meaning; some place being the ultimate spot for a certain experience.

The rude word of the week (every three weeks an episode and still a word of the week) section dives in to all the connections with Holy: as in Holy Cow, Holy Moses and so on, till the PG 13 rating is warranted. Holy cannoli!

Just as they pointed out: the use of religiously associated words sort of erodes the load. I can see this especially clear if I literally translate some common Hebrew, rather day-to-day phrases in secular Israel into English or the even more secular Dutch. If you ask someone 'What's up', in Israel, you may get, even from secular people, an answer that is the equivalent of: Praise the Lord, or: God be blessed. It doesn't make you sound half as orthodox and observant as it looks.

Friendship in Shrinkrapradio

There is a distinct quality to podcasts that allows you to listen in on the natural conversation of people who genuinely connect. It is one of the wisdoms podcasters have discovered that it is best to have a buddy on your podcast, make various voices appear together on the show, but the banter between panelists and co-hosts and interviewers is not always smooth, or sometimes too smooth in directed or scripted way. It proves, apparently, to be no trivial task to have real natural conversation to listen in on.

Here we see the quality of The Word Nerds, but even more so of Dr. David van Nuys (Shrinkrapradio, Wise Counsel). These podcasts offer conversation that invariably is pleasant to listen to and as such contribute greatly to what is already an interesting topic. Dr. Dave stands out, as he manages to arrive at this intimacy in most of his interviews. He does not have the advantage the Word Nerds have to speak with their long time friends and relatives, yet with professionals in the field of psychology and still he succeeds.

On the occasion Dr. Dave speaks with a friend like with Jerry Trumbule on show #100 or with Charles Merril on the latest show (#117) listening is a real treat. A treat in subject (in this case about Self Disclosure, Friendship. Touching on Carl Rogers and Martin Buber, in the process) and a treat in experience.

Nicknames for Word Nerds

The 94th edition of The Word Nerds is not just about nicknames. Howard and Dave Shepherd begin with discussing mascots and only then the nicknames begin.

What I learned this edition is where nickname comes from. The original word is 'ekename'. Then 'an ekename' evolved into 'a nickname' - note the n moving from the article to the noun. On a side note, it is also explained what is the difference between a nickname and a moniker. The Word Nerds claim that a nickname may be given, but a moniker is a chosen alias. And I was thinking it may have something to do with monks...

The rude word of the week is not one word. It is a round of confessions by Howard and Dave and an invitation to the listeners to chip in and relate what was your worst nickname. I personally had a load of nicknames. Especially my sister had a knack for driving me up the wall with her inventions, but the nasty one that stuck for a long time was Panne. Just my luck.

Public Speaking with The Word Nerds

Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang discuss public speaking. First they dissect the phenomenon, go over the various aspects and necessary qualities and finally close off with practical pointers. Apart from the usual quality (the best kind of radio), this issue is also very practical. You nervous guys who are to engage in public speaking: this podcast may prove to some help.

The rude word of the week, if less helpful, is one of the regular sections and the one that is always the most charming, if naughty, still educational section. As always I have this tiny contest with myself, if I can guess up front what the rude word is going to be. This time my guess was demagogue, but it turned out to be rabble-rouser, which is somehow a synonym - yay! Not the first time I got it nearly right.

This is the language podcast I stick to. It is entertaining, funny, educational and charming at the same time.

TWN transitions (92)

The Word Nerds should not be recounted, the podcast should be experienced. The latest edition, about transitions features Dave and Barbara Shepherd, discussing all variations, apparitions and expressions of change. This show even brings a junior Shepherd. Dave and Barbara's son Ben performs with his band Wetbrain on the show. What transition that means for the Shepherds.

It signifies what transition the Shepherds as a family go through. The kids have left the house. The basement has turned into a full time Word Nerd studio. Still, the show will not increase to more than one issue per 3 weeks. I keep on hoping.

An image search for Wetbrain in pictures gave me the added pic. I hope this is THE band as intended. Which one is Ben?

The Word Nerds gave me a plug...

...and talked about inside language, using many examples from bicycling, which is very good in itself isn't it? The Word Nerds is a podcast about words, language and why we say the things we do - or so it is presented in the opening tune. As so many other podcasts you have the opportunity to give a shout out through mychingo. I had completely forgotten I had taken that opportunity.

I gave a mild persiflage of the opening sentences and without any comment whatsoever, show #91 opens with exactly that clip. And a link to this blog is put on the show notes. My statcounter reports a significant surge in visits and a considerable portion of the visits are redirects from the Word Nerds home page.

So, welcome to my humble blog, dear Word Nerds, Word Nerd listeners and Word Nerd affiliates. But now that we are talking. Do you also feel a bit gigglish about the opening formula 'say the things we do' and the rating? I just had to make fun of that. Did you notice?

Another thought: hopping on the show like that and comfortably draw some web attention, isn't that a bit 'wheel sucker'-ish by me? Hehehe.

Howard Chang is back; Small Talk

Is this Small Talk show of The Word Nerds about language? Or is it about micro-sociology? In any case, after a long hiatus, Howard Chang is back and he speaks with Dave Shepherd about small talk.

They demonstrate small talk, define small talk, indicate the goal of small talk, describe the use of small talk and analyze how it works - and sometimes won't work. Intertwined we have the usual musical bumpers and the 'rude word of the week' (gossip). For a show of this light and entertaining caliber the length - between 30 and 45 minutes - the original frequency - weekly - was just ideal. Now that the show comes out about every 3 weeks, one gets out of touch with the style and tone and has to get used all over again and again. I believe the show is as good as it ever was, it just needed to be weekly in order to maintain its cult.

Indications are, if at all, the show is going to stop, or become less frequent, rather than return to the weekly format. What a pity of a unique podcast. Maybe the Word Nerds need a larger team? Right now Dave Shepherd produces the show largely on his own, with Howard Shepherd, Howard Chang and Barbara Shepherd contributing to the content. Too much of a burden for Dave and enough to do for the rest of the Nerds. Can't they tap into the Word Nerds forum crowd? Currently there are 330 registered users and I can see some certified potential there...

TWN #89: Synonyms

The Word Nerds have made a new show, show number 89 it is. Howard (left) and Dave (below) Shepherd have a talk about synonyms.

The show is much inspired by both brothers' recent visit to Germany. Hence, the show is less about English synonyms and more about the difficulty of discerning the fine distinctions between synonyms in your second language -- German in particular. And about the difficulty finding the right synonym in German to an English specific.

Only by the end English synonyms are discussed as well as the inability to discern between those when there is talk of the rude word of the week. I think it helped me a lot, that I know German and I was on top of the examples that came on the table. I liked the show as usual. For anyone who wants to try the show, but is wondering whether to feel put off by the amount of German in the show, I say: do not be afraid. Even though German is the most featured foreign language, as the one most prominent foreign language the Shepherds master (there are more!), the show is first and foremost about English. I think I do not recall such emphasis on German ever before.

The Word Nerds Podcast

Such a long time I have had to wait until I could write about my favorite podcast. The wordnerds had been away for months, but finally they are back. Unfortunately, they are not back as they used to. They used to deliver one podcast a week. At least they are back to the one podcast per three weeks -- I hope

The Word Nerds is like a radio show only so much better as it is a podcast and hence can be listened to when and where and at the speed and repetitiousness I like. It has the music, apt jingles, announcements, sound quality and jive a professional radio program has. And it is about words, language and why we say the things we do, which makes it just the right stuff for me.

Three language teachers (Latin, English, German) elegantly take on various subjects from really nerdy linguistic grammar stuff, like modal verbs, to juicy expletives and of course the returning 'rude word of the week'. In light, but to the point, banter they discuss the subject and thus produce 30 to 45 minutes podcasts that are real gems in the field. They are also very apt at using music like adding podsafe work to each edition. A great podcast especially for language lovers, but also for any interested in the sublime craft of podcasting -- what a shining example!