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Geoff Nunberg Geoff Nunberg is the linguist contributor on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross.
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Geoff Nunberg

Media

Docudrama's Fine Line Between Truth and Fiction

How do you draw the line between dramatic license and historical accuracy? That was the essence of the controversy over the recent ABC docudrama The Path to 9/11, just as it was a few years ago with the CBS miniseries that put words in Ronald Reagan's mouth that he never uttered. Docudrama may be a new word, but it raises old questions about truth and fiction.

Docudrama's Fine Line Between Truth and Fiction

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Opinion

The Evolution of 'Lifestyle'

Fresh Air

The word lifestyle has moved around in our culture since it first appeared more than 35 years ago. Our linguist says the word has gone from being a way to differentiate the '60s counterculture to a marketing tool and now to a political catchphrase.

The Evolution of 'Lifestyle'

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Opinion

Analysis

Choosing Your Terms: The Language of Katrina

Fresh Air

Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers the language that's been used the describe the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. What words do we use, "looting," "finding" or "foraging"? "Refugees," "evacuees" or "the displaced"?

Choosing Your Terms: The Language of Katrina

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Opinion

Selling Policy with Catchy Language

Fresh Air

Increasingly catchy terminology is used to package government missions and policies. Consider "war on terror" and "no child left behind," for instance. Linguist Geoff Nunberg offers his thoughts on the subject.

Selling Policy with Catchy Language

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Red vs. Blue Politics: A Linguist's Perspective

Fresh Air

Political analysts have been dividing the country into red states and blue states for several elections now, but it's only in the last year or two that the distinction has really caught on with the media and the public. As our linguist Geoff Nunberg points out, the odd thing is that the new usage seems to reverse the traditional political meanings of red and blue.

Red vs. Blue Politics: A Linguist's Perspective

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