Words

Tūru – chair, rorohiko – computer, pene – pen, papa pātuhi – keyboard, rātaka – daily planner, kōpae mārō – hard drive, waea – telephone, rama – lamp. Audio

When is a word really a word? When it's in the dictionary? How does it get there? Laurie Bauer, Professor of Linguistics at Victoria University, says dictionaries are out of date the moment they are… Audio

Words and phrases entering and leaving the language. Audio

The origins of hundreds of everyday words and phrases are in a new guide called 'The Etymologicon', which makes the interesting point that an influx of words into English often occurs at times of… Audio

Recent research has found that words spelled with more letters on the right of the keyboard are associated with more positive emotions than words spelt with more letters on the left. Audio

New research examining the frequency of words used in books for more than 200 years reveals the rise and demise of them through time, and how social, technological and political change influences… Audio

A poll on the Public Address website has declared "munted" the word of the year. Audio

Taboo words and coarse language on television. Audio

Two official bibles of the world of Scrabble- updated and definitive lists of each and every word you can play- have just come out. There's nearly 3000 new words - from Facebook to wagyu - but still… Audio

Are you sick of people saying you should "man up" or telling you that they'll "Facebook you later"? Audio

Mark Broatch talks about the new popular words of 2010. Audio

We hear of the origins of idiosyncratic sayings and words peculiar to this part of the world. Audio

In our monthly language slot Dianne talks about how we join words together to make new ones. Audio

Marco Sonzogni is editor of the new 'Lost in Translation' anthology which looks at the ambiguity of words. Audio

Dr Dianne Bardsley is a lexicographer and director of the New Zealand Dictionary Centre. She talks to Chris about finding new words, and what death notices reveal about our culture. Audio

Mark Broatch is the author of "In a Word". He is in the studio to discuss how our language has evolved over the last 10 years. Audio

Last year it was 'climate porn' and 'toxic debt'; this year it's 'besties' and 'boyzillians', just 2 of the 5,000 new words to make the cut in the latest edition of the Macquarie Dictionary. The… Audio

Victoria University lexicographer Diane Bardsley talks to Chris Laidlaw about New Zealand English and the influence of globalised English on the words we use. Audio

Kevin Garber, General Manager of Melon Media in Sydney and founder of the spelling check software, Spellr.us. This has been applied to the websites of 20 world class universities and found errors. Audio

The most miss-spelt words in the English language. Audio