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combe.

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

I'm John McWhorter. I teach linguistics at Columbia University, and notice I said I'm John McWhorter rather than I am, as you all know, I just contracted.

And despite my saying, a show or three ago, that I didn't think I could get a whole show out of contractions,

so many of you seem to differ that I have decided to take a chance.

Now, to tell you the truth, contraction itself isn't as interesting as it may seem,

but the reason it may seem interesting is interesting, and you'll see what I mean today.

We're going to learn a little lesson about how language is like a lava lamp. Yes, it is, and you will see what I mean.

First of all, contractions. I think a lot of you know that I'm going to say that contractions go way back.

And so it's not something that, as some people seem to understandably think,

it's something that we are only doing now that it's somehow a symptom of how slovenly, hear that folks,

not slovenly, slovenly we are about language. They go way back. And so, for example, Shakespeare.

Of course, Shakespeare.

I'm going to just take a random example.

This is from Henry the fourth second part.

And we can listen to Falstaff.

This is Orson Wells.

Believe it or not, he's on the Dean Martin show.

Imagine somebody on Jimmy Fallon doing Shakespeare today. He's on the Dean Martin show and he's doing a speech and he's using contractions. Notice him saying that's and theirs. These sober-blooded boys do not love me, nor a man cannot make them laugh.

That's no marvel.

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