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Now, on to the episode.

Music This is But Why, A Podcast for Curious Kids from Vermont Public.

I'm Jane Lindholm.

On this show, we take questions from curious kids just like you, and we find answers.

I don't know about you, but I feel like I learn a new word all the time,

even though I've been an English

speaker my whole life. Some researchers estimate there are roughly one million words in the

English language, so there's no way I will ever be able to know every single one of them,

but it's a fun goal to have. Did you know new words get invented all the time?

I bet there are words you use with your friends that didn't exist when the adults around you were growing up.

And there are words our grandparents or great-great-grandparents used

that you may never even hear because they're no longer popular.

Lots of people describe languages as living or alive.

Now, they're not technically alive, but they seem kind of that way because they change all the

time. Our guest for today's show is someone who studies words and how we use them. Dr. Erica

...