San Francisco Chronicle
Geoffrey Nunberg, clever media linguist, examines what our words
really mean, including the way Bush says 'nucular'

Heidi Benson, Chronicle Staff Writer

Thursday, July 8, 2004
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/07/08/DDG1P7HEVA1.DTL

""In the mouths of those people, 'nucular' is a choice, not an
inadvertent mistake -- a thinko, not a typo," says Nunberg, who is a
senior researcher at the Center for the Study of Language and
Information and a linguistics professor at Stanford."

"If there is such a thing as a standup linguist, it's Nunberg....
Fans of "Fresh Air" will recognize his radio voice -- a smooth, amused
baritone. His timely commentary has been heard on that popular
National Public Radio show since its inception.

A collection of his most recent essays -- some of which were written
for The San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times and the New
York Times -- was published by Public Affairs in May.

"Going Nucular: Language, Politics and Culture in Controversial Times"
is an unapologetically partisan book that ponders the evolution of
such terms as "regime change," "axis of evil" and "class warfare."
Nunberg may be fairly described as the left's answer to William Safire
(the former Nixon speechwriter whose New York Times grammar column is
a must-read for word lovers and newshounds).

"The titles of his essays alone signal mischief ("Beleaguered
Infidel," "Caucasian Talk Circles," "We'll Always Have Kirkuk") and a
familiarity with the American songbook ("Begin the Regime," "Where the
Left Commences").

Whether taken aurally or read on the page, his writing -- like the
best dinner-party conversation -- is provocative, brainy and funny,
spiced with deft quotes from Austen, Camus and Shakespeare.

Linguistics is a technical discipline that analyzes the structure of
language using tools derived from mathematics and logic -- which,
Nunberg admits, "can be very formidable to a lay person."

What's funny is all that brainpower used to peer behind words.

"Whenever you have repressed material lying just below the surface,
you have an opportunity for a gag," he says, citing David Sedaris and
Jerry Seinfeld. "Humor has to do with pointing out the obvious."

WORD GAMES

Here are a few examples of linguist and commentator Geoffrey Nunberg's
insights into the way we talk today:

Blog: A syllable whose time has come.

Google: You don't get to be a verb unless you're doing something right.

Postmodernism: Once more without feeling.

E-mail Heidi Benson at hbenson@....