A Word in Your Ear

Phrasal verbs are verbs with more than one word like 'wake up' and 'look forward to'. There are thousands of them in English and they can be quite tricky but once you notice these phrasal verbs, you'll pick them up all the time. "Turn off the TV" is an example of a phrasal verb, which is a verb that has a base verb and one or two particles.

What is the history of birthdays?These days, people celebrate with cake, candles, balloons and gifts! However, after years of celebrating with these items, they almost become afterthoughts. But how did these forms of celebrations arise?

English is Australia's de facto national language and like many nations, us Aussie's have put our own spin on it. Many Australians are even surprised to find out that different regions or states tend to have their own unique dialects.

Nothing gets our gold and green nation going like a good game of sport and in particular footy! Where it's League, Rugby or AFL - our passion runs deep. In fact, Australia has one of the highest sports participation rates in the entire world.

Australia is the most Irish country in the world outside Ireland.Irish-born immigrants and their descendants have been a feature of the Australian population since the arrival of the First Fleet in New South Wales in 1788.You may assume America would be in the running for that title - they have 30 million people claiming Irish heritage. 

Have you ever heard weather phrases such as 'the wet', 'rain bomb' or 'mizzle' and wonder where they came from or what they actually mean? Roly Sussex takes us on a journey through weather event terminology. 

Often times Australians will initially adopt Americanisms ironically but after a while the irony disappears and those words and phrases become part of our everyday language. 

Whether you're meeting someone for the first time or you see them every day, the way we greet and farewell someone can say a lot about your culture, manners and familiarity to the other person.

It's an age old question: 'Haitch' or 'Aitch'? What do the differences in how we pronounce words say about us?

Now that the festive season is done, its time to pack up the decorations, put away leftover wrapping paper and store this year's Christmas cards.

Roly Sussex explores the origins of giving, and words like philanthropy, donations and charity.

What's the difference between Qantas and the ATO? Roly Sussex will take you into the strange world of acronyms and initialisms.

Americanisms have had such an impact on our language that ABC's Roly Sussex has recorded over 10,000 of them.

Boo! From witches to wicca, Roly Sussex peeks behind the curtain of words like ghosts, spectres, Halloween and haunts.

With US elections on the horizon, Roly Sussex investigates the language of democracy.

It's the delicious language of Italy on the menu tonight.

Are you feeling tip-top, hoity-toity or namby-pamby today? Roly investigates the curiosities of echo phrases.

Do dogs go "whoof, whoof", "ruff, ruff" or "wan, wan"? Roly Sussex explores the origins of onomatopoeia.

What's the Aussie origins of the slang, jargon and banter of our nation's greatest footy code?

A "blessing in disguise" or a "blessing in the skies"? Roly Sussex dives into the elusive mondegreen.

"Wut a way you" might sound like pirate speak, but it's a common greeting on this Australian island. 

Who knows what sous vide is? What does being out of breath have to do with your soufflé? 

Two teenagers explain the nuances of "rizz", "no cap" and "sigma" to Professor Roly Sussex.

How has news language changed over the years? And why do news reporters say words in that fancy way?

Do you ever "soften" your language to sound more polite? Roly Sussex explains "hedges", where English soften statements for pleasantry's sake.

From mispronunciation to grammatical errors, Roly Sussex explores some of the common mistakes in English.

The Cambridge Dictionary added 3200 new wods to their books last year. So what are they? Roly Sussex is your guide.

Bonjour! This week, Roly Sussex discusses the significance and evolution of the French language.

We've hit the nail on the head! This week, Roly Sussex discusses the significance of metaphors in everyday language.

Please & Thank You! This week, Roly Sussex discusses how manners and gratitude are expressed differently around the world.

Marmee? Gram? Gramps? Papa? This week, Roly Sussex discusses the words we use for our older relatives.

Are all written languages spoken? And are all spoken languages written?

From The Churchill Arms to Ye Old Fighting Cocks, there's a whole "alien" language associated with pub talk.

Music has the uncanny ability to be understood by anyone, anywhere. But why? And how did music develop its own kind of "language"?

From ships and professions to family structures and pronouns, Roly Sussex navigates the complex web of gendered language.

Wind, clouds and rain... ABC's Roly Sussex discusses weather words alongside ABC TV Weather Presenter Jenny Woodward. 

Flat out like a lizard drinking! ABC's Roly Sussex discusses catchy phrases.

Lips, tongue, teeth and cheeks... ABC's Roly Sussex discusses the sounds of language.

Tell me a furphy... What is a brass razoo? ABC's Roly Sussex discusses language used during wartime.

Omnishambles? Yoghurt? ABC's Roly Sussex discusses new words and how to pronounce yoghurt.

A frog and toad for the road? ABC's Roly Sussex discusses avoidance language and rhyming slang.

Catchy slogans. Memorable jingles. ABC's Roly Sussex discusses advertising language and memorable catchphrases.