The Black Dog (Rebroadcast) - 12 April 2021

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over

A Way with Words

Language Learning, Society & Culture, Education

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2021

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Books were rare treasures in the Middle Ages, painstakingly copied out by hand. So how to protect them from theft? Scribes sometimes added a curse to the first page of those books that was supposed to keep thieves away — and some were as vicious as they were creative! Also: if you spot a typo in a published book, should you contact the publisher? Maybe, but your first step is to make sure you're right! Finally, learning another language may make you question whether you're speaking your own correctly — but there are strategies to fix that. Plus y'all, a Venn diagram brain teaser, 11 o'clock number, pronouncing the word measure, and you'll die bull-headed. Read full show notes, hear hundreds of free episodes, send your thoughts and questions, and learn more on the A Way with Words website: https://waywordradio.org/. Email words@waywordradio.org. Twitter @wayword. Our listener phone line 1 (877) 929-9673 is toll-free in the United States and Canada. Elsewhere in the world, call +1 (619) 800-4443; charges may apply. From anywhere, text/SMS +1 (619) 567-9673. Copyright Wayword, Inc., a 501(c)(3) corporation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Alright, I'm Jack Greenlich.
0:02.0	I think you can listen to music from relaxing, to celebrating, to getting yourself prepared.
0:08.0	I like all sorts, honestly. I like hip-hop, R&B, and then house music as well.
0:13.0	So yeah, there's no guilt with pleasure as R&D.
0:15.0	Jack wears the Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra headphones, enjoying his favourite music,
0:20.0	with more immersive sounds than ever before.
0:23.0	Wow, the music's just everything, isn't it?
0:25.0	Get yours at Bose.co.uk.
0:27.0	Bose, sound is power.
0:30.0	You're listening to Away With Words, the show about language and how we use it.
0:34.0	I'm Grant Barrett.
0:35.0	And I'm Martha Burnett.
0:36.0	In the Middle Ages, books were the rarest of treasures, painstakingly copied out by hand and often over many long years.
0:44.0	So how to protect these valuable works from theft?
0:48.0	Well, one way was for medieval scribes to include a curse written on the colophone,
0:53.0	that is either the first page or the last page, to warn away would-be thieves.
0:58.0	One, may whoever steals me cease ever to have a moment's peace.
1:02.0	Wow.
1:03.0	They want to just haunt these people.
1:05.0	And here's one, it's a 16th century translation of a similar inscription in a French book,
1:12.0	whoever steals this book of prayer, may he be ripped apart by swine,
1:17.0	his heart be splintered this eye swear, and his body dragged along the Rhine.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from A Way with Words, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of A Way with Words and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.