May 27, 1987

The New Glut of Legends

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg considers the use of the word "legend," which he believes ascribes too much importance to what could more accurately be described as "fame."

03:29

Queue

Contributor

Geoffrey Nunberg

Other segments from the episode on May 27, 1987

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, May 27, 1987: Interview with Kati Marton; Review of the album "Benita Valente sings Lieder of Schubert, Haydn and Mozart"; Interview with Julian Barnes; Commentary on the…

Queue

May 27, 1987

27:51

"An American Woman" Considers Her Hungarian Past

Kati Marton's new autobiographical novel follows the life of journalist who returns to her home country. Like the book's protagonist, Marton's parents were political prisoners in Hungary. She is married to television news anchor Peter Jennings.

Interview

Kati Marton

Queue

May 27, 1987

06:36

Finding the Fame She Deserves

Soprano Benita Valente isn't as visible as some of her peers, in part because she hasn't recorded as much as other opera stars. Lloyd Schwartz hopes a new album of lieder will raise Valente's profile.

Review

Queue

May 27, 1987

09:32

Reveling in the Imprecision of Language

British novelist Julian Barnes takes great pleasure in quoting bad writing, as well as how words often fail to convey their intended meaning. His new book is called Staring at the Sun.

Interview

Julian Barnes

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

Banderas' experience following the heart attack informs his performance in the new film, Pain and Glory, directed by Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar. In the film, he plays a screenwriter and director who lives to make movies but has stopped working because he's suffering with physical pain — and pain of the soul.

Queue

April 19, 2017

41:41

From 'F-Bomb' To 'Photobomb,' How The Dictionary Keeps Up With English

In 2017 alone, Merriam-Webster added more than 1,000 words to its dictionary. Noah Webster himself might have struggled to define these new English terms — such as binge-watch, humblebrag, photobomb, NSFW, truther, face-palm and listicle.

Interview

Kory Stamper

Queue

November 11, 2016

05:11

Our National Language

The Senate version of the immigration bill includes a clause proclaiming English the national language and calling on the federal government to preserve and enhance the role of English. Our linguist, Geoff Nunberg, isn't sure this is a good idea.

Commentary

Search the Fresh Air Archive

The New Glut of Legends

Contributor

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on May 27, 1987

"An American Woman" Considers Her Hungarian Past

Finding the Fame She Deserves

Reveling in the Imprecision of Language

Transcript

You May Also like

How A Heart Attack Brought Antonio Banderas Closer To 'Pain And Glory'

From 'F-Bomb' To 'Photobomb,' How The Dictionary Keeps Up With English

Our National Language

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.