Geoff Nunberg
NPR
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Past articles by Geoff:
'Disinformation' Is The Word Of The Year — And A Sign Of What's To Come
Foreign nations have been systematically spreading falsehoods on social media for years; in 2019, it seemed like the world began to fully grasp the ramifications of disinformation campaigns. → Read More
'Disinformation' Is The Word Of The Year — And A Sign Of What's To Come
As always, this year's word of the year candidates came from all over. There were the viral memes like "OK, boomer" and "weird flex, → Read More
Opinion: Even A Grammar Geezer Like Me Can Get Used To Gender Neutral Pronouns
For anyone struggling to use "they" as a singular pronoun, linguist Geoff Nunberg says: Just practice. He believes human language processing capacity is far more adaptable than people realize. → Read More
Algorithmic Intelligence Has Gotten So Smart, It's Easy To Forget It's Artificial
Artificial intelligence becomes hard to ignore when it starts taking over tasks that used to require human judgment — such as winnowing job applications or prioritizing stories in a news feed. → Read More
Algorithmic Intelligence Has Gotten So Smart, It's Easy To Forget It's Artificial
Algorithms were around for a very long time before the public paid them any notice. The word itself is derived from the name of a 9th-century Persian → Read More
Opinion: 'Nationalist' Arises, With Myriad Connotations, As The Word Of 2018
President Trump created a firestorm when he described himself as a "proud" nationalist at a recent rally. Linguist Geoff Nunberg says the word carries a specter of racism and belligerence. → Read More
Opinion: A Linguist's Defense Of 'Falsehood'
Geoff Nunberg says that "falsehood" isn't just a decorous synonym for "lie." Instead, it has a moral weight of its own — especially when it comes to the effects of what someone says. → Read More
Opinion: Why The Term 'Deep State' Speaks To Conspiracy Theorists
Linguist Geoff Nunberg says it's common for citizens of democracies to express concerns about the government. But the term "deep state" refers to something more nefarious — and conspiratorial. → Read More
Opinion: U.S. And U.K. Remain United, Not Divided, By Their Common Language
Geoff Nunberg (@GeoffNunberg) is a linguist who teaches at the School of Information at the University of California at Berkeley. "Great Britain and → Read More
Opinion: U.S. And U.K. Remain United, Not Divided, By Their Common Language
Geoff Nunberg (@GeoffNunberg) is a linguist who teaches at the School of Information at the University of California at Berkeley. "Great Britain and → Read More
Opinion: U.S. And U.K. Remain United, Not Divided, By Their Common Language
Linguist Geoff Nunberg says none of the differences between American and British English would be interesting if the nations didn't share a core vocabulary grown from a common literary tradition. → Read More
So Longhand: Has Cursive Reached The End Of The Line?
Linguist Geoff Nunberg believes there's value in writing by hand — but he doesn't see why the letters have to connect. "You may as well dictate what song we all have to sing in the shower," he says. → Read More
As Fissures Between Political Camps Grow, 'Tribalism' Emerges As The Word Of 2017
It's word-of-the-year time again. Collins Dictionary chose "Fake news" and Dictionary.com went with "complicit." Others have → Read More
As Fissures Between Political Camps Grow, 'Tribalism' Emerges As The Word Of 2017
"The meme of the moment is to say that American politics has become 'tribal,'" linguist Geoff Nunberg says. One sign of the division is the fact that no one can agree on how to use the word. → Read More
50 Years After The Summer Of Love, Hippie Counterculture Is Relegated To Kitsch
Looking back on the vanished styles and language of the hippie movement, linguist Geoff Nunberg says, "The most persistent single pejorative term to come out of the era is 'hippie' itself." → Read More
50 Years After The Summer Of Love, Hippie Counterculture Is Relegated To Kitsch
Looking back on the vanished styles and language of the hippie movement, linguist Geoff Nunberg says, "The most persistent single pejorative term to come out of the era is 'hippie' itself." → Read More
The Enduring Legacy Of Jane Austen's 'Truth Universally Acknowledged'
Geoff Nunberg (@GeoffNunberg) is a linguist who teaches at the School of Information at the University of California at Berkeley. Shortly after Amazon → Read More
The Enduring Legacy Of Jane Austen's 'Truth Universally Acknowledged'
Geoff Nunberg (@GeoffNunberg) is a linguist who teaches at the School of Information at the University of California at Berkeley. Shortly after Amazon → Read More
The Enduring Legacy Of Jane Austen's 'Truth Universally Acknowledged'
Geoff Nunberg (@GeoffNunberg) is a linguist who teaches at the School of Information at the University of California at Berkeley. → Read More
The Enduring Legacy Of Jane Austen's 'Truth Universally Acknowledged'
Linguist Geoff Nunberg describes the opening sentence to Pride and Prejudice as a "masterpiece of indirection" that is frequently repurposed, but whose irony is never matched. → Read More