The most powerful word

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Recorded17 Jul 2019

Publisherpodcasts.files.bbci.co.uk ↗

Handlerec:15200196

Show notes

Michael Rosen explores the strange history of 'The', the most influential word in English. It's used more than twice as much as any other English word, and has given philosophers centuries of head-scratching. So how did a word which means nothing, and didn't even exist in Old English, come to dominate our language? With linguists Laura Wright and Jonathan Culpeper, and philosopher Barry Smith.Producer: Melvin Rickarby

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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