Posted on May 23, 2023 at 2:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Two linguistic topics that I can't resist are the evolution of English and the impressive specificity of certain words in other languages.

And those two collide, delightfully, in NPR's interview of author Hana Videen.

Videen's book The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English not only shares some of those words (such as "uhtceare," or pre-dawn anxiety) but also explains what their existence tells us about the lives of the people who would've used it.

It's probably better to listen to Ayesha Rascoe talk to Videen, so you can hear those pronunciations, but you can certainly also read their conversation — and also check out Videen's website, Old English Wordhord, which features words of the day and a free app. 

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Categories: Today in Books

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