Geoff Nunberg is the linguist contributor on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross.
He teaches at the School of Information at the University of California at Berkeley and is the author of The Way We Talk Now, Going Nucular, Talking Right and The Years of Talking Dangerously. His most recent book is Ascent of the A-Word. His website is www.geoffreynunberg.com.
Thanks to the presidential election, "socialism" and "capitalism" were Merriam-Webster's most-looked-up words of the year in 2012. Richard Drew/AP hide caption
President Trump addresses the crowd during a rally in Houston in support of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz on Oct. 22,. During the rally, he described himself as a "nationalist," and encouraged his supporters to use the word. Loren Elliott/Getty Images hide caption
"However people map out the geography of American political tribes, they always exempt themselves and their neighbors," Geoff Nunberg says. Gary Waters/Ikon Images/Getty Images hide caption
An art exhibit at the de Young Museum in San Francisco celebrates 50 years since the famed Summer of Love. Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
An 1894 engraving depicts chapter 18 of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. De Agostini Picture Library/Getty Images hide caption
Linguist Geoff Nunberg says that people often use spurious quotations to create a version of Abraham Lincoln that suit a political purpose. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Linguist Geoff Nunberg argues that the media's decision to bleep or otherwise block out a particular word can result in concealing information the public needs to know. dane_mark/Getty Images hide caption
The media have used a variety of epithets to describe white working-class Trump supporters. Linguist Geoff Nunberg says these terms embody the class contention that is central to this year's election. Dan Bannister/AWL Images RM/Getty Images hide caption