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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.
- Look at these tasty runes on the Franks casket.
- 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!
MAILCHIMP'S RANDOMLY SELECTED WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY:
nombril
This episode is sponsored by Tasting Room and Squarespace.com. To order the Tasting Room starter pack of wine samples for the special price of $6.95, visit tastingroom.com/allusionist. Tough luck, winos of the world; Tasting Room only ship to the USA. But wherever you are, you can receive a 10% discount for a year on Squarespace.com using the code Allusion.
Thanks ever so much to all of you who've already filled out the Radiotopia listener survey at surveynerds.com/allusionist; if you haven't, please do! What's in it for you? 1. We can find out how to make our podcasts better for you; 2. you could win some posh Tivoli headphones; 3. altruistic glow.
Come back in a fortnight for the next episode, space cadets!
- HZ
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.
- Find me at facebook.com/allusionistshow, twitter.com/allusionistshow and twitter.com/helenzaltzman.
MUSIC:
'Allusionist Theme' - Martin Austwick
'The Spaces In Between' - Ben Christophers
