The following podcast contains explicit language.

From New York City, this is Lexicon Valley, a podcast about language.

I'm John McWater, and for this episode, I thought we would look as we often do at something

that seems very straightforward on the surface, but actually presents us with all kinds of

interesting details if we look up close.

It's kind of like the organelles in a cell.

Or something like that.

And what I want to do today is questions.

Just questions.

It's something that you think was pretty straightforward in languages.

It's even been said that what language is fundamentally if you boil it down?

What its three main functions are is statements.

The book is read.

Commands.

Give me a book.

And questions.

Has anybody written a book about that?

The statements, commands, and questions kind of carries the very basic fundamental functions

of language.

But you know, there's a lot more to it than that.

Questions present all sorts of challenges.

There are all sorts of things that you would never know about them given that we don't have

...