Language and Social Change Archives — Planet Word Museum The museum where language comes to life Tue, 15 Apr 2025 17:30:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://planetwordmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/cropped-PW_Logo_BLUE_circle-2-1-32x32.png Language and Social Change Archives — Planet Word Museum 32 32 Dignity or Contempt? How One Simple Tool Could Transform America’s Dialogue https://planetwordmuseum.org/from-the-founder-dignity-or-contempt-how-one-simple-tool-could-transform-americas-dialogue/ Wed, 18 Sep 2024 21:31:43 +0000 https://planetwordmuseum.org/?p=8850 After two assassination attempts against former President Trump and unease in Springfield, Ohio, after false accusations that immigrants there were eating pets, it’s the right time to think about toning…

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]]> Choosing the 2023 Word of the Year: Q&A with Ben Zimmer and Kelly Wright https://planetwordmuseum.org/choosing-the-2023-word-of-the-year-qa-with-ben-zimmer-and-kelly-wright/ Thu, 18 Jan 2024 21:43:25 +0000 https://planetwordmuseum.org/?p=8015 Since 1990, the American Dialect Society has annually unveiled a Word of the Year — a newly prominent word that reflects significant events, societal shifts, and prevailing themes over the…

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]]> Putting Aside Words as Weapons https://planetwordmuseum.org/from-the-founder-putting-aside-words-as-weapons/ Mon, 20 Nov 2023 19:02:50 +0000 https://planetwordmuseum.org/?p=7893 This has been an incredibly hard few weeks for people who care about people, who work for peace, who strive to promote tolerance and understanding…and for people who care about…

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]]> Singular “They” and Language Beyond the Gender Binary: Q&A with Kirby Conrod https://planetwordmuseum.org/singular-they-and-language-beyond-the-gender-binary-qa-with-kirby-conrod/ Wed, 01 Nov 2023 16:18:42 +0000 https://planetwordmuseum.org/?p=7782 With nonbinary and trans identities becoming more mainstream, pronouns have increasingly become a hot topic — particularly singular “they,” which is favored by many nonbinary people. While singular “they” has…

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]]> A Manifesto for Planet Word 2.0 https://planetwordmuseum.org/a-manifesto-for-planet-word-2-0/ Mon, 05 Jun 2023 21:48:51 +0000 https://planetwordmuseum.org/?p=7198 Back in 2013 when we started planning a museum of words and language, it was mainly intended to be a new way to bring disaffected readers back into the fold…

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]]> Linguistic Diversity in the District and the “D.C. Dialect”: Q&A with Natalie Schilling https://planetwordmuseum.org/the-d-c-dialect-and-linguistic-diversity-in-d-c-q-a-with-natalie-schilling/ Wed, 24 May 2023 15:47:40 +0000 https://planetwordmuseum.org/?p=7116 Is the word “moe” in your vocabulary? How about “jhi”? If so, you’re likely a D.C. local! Like go-go and mambo sauce, these words are part of the lifeblood of…

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