iTUNES • RSS • SOUNDCLOUD • MP3
I know this is a show about words, but forget the words for a moment; look at the spaces between the words.
Without the spaces, the words would be nigh incomprehensible. And yet, they're a relatively recent linguistic innovation. Dr Kate Wiles explains how English got its spaces.
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS:
See Ogham in a manuscript and Ogham on a stone.
Here's an Anglo-Saxon manuscript, whose scribe has got to grips with spaces.
Aargh, look at this mess of Latin before spaces:
Hooray for spaces!
The transcript of this episode is at theallusionist.org/transcripts/spaces.
YOUR RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
nombril
CREDITS:
Dr Kate Wiles is contributing editor at History Today and soon will be helming their podcast. Her website is katewiles.wordpress.com and she tweets as @katemond.
This episode was presented and produced by me, Helen Zaltzman. The music is by Martin Austwick.
Find me at facebook.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/helenzaltzman.
Come back in a fortnight for the next episode, space cadets!
