A Word in Your Ear

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Emeritus Professor Roly Sussex walks you through the linguistic mindfield, explaining the weird and wonderful aspects of English and many other languages.

ABC Radio


    • Jun 16, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 25m AVG DURATION
    • 725 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from A Word in Your Ear

    A Word In Your Ear: Contronyms

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2025 31:56


    When you "dust" something, are you removing the dust or adding it?Professor Roly Sussex unravels the double meanings of contronyms. 

    A Word in Your Ear: Free For All

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2025 21:50


    Have you got a grammar gripe? Frustrated by a phrase? Professor Roly Sussex tackles your language queries. 

    A Word in Your Ear: Footy Names

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2025 22:34


    Ever wondered how your favourite footy teams got their names? Professor Roly Sussex tackles the phrases of footy. 

    A Word in Your Ear: Alphabet

    Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2025 24:23


    Did you know that 70% of the world's languages use alphabets similar to English? Professor Roly Sussex breaks down the building blocks of the English language: the alphabet. 

    A Word in Your Ear: Puns

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2025 21:15


    If you make your kids cringe with dad jokes, this episode's for you! Professor Roly Sussex discusses the power of puns, and why language lovers keep the tradition alive. 

    A Word in Your Ear: Money

    Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2025 27:55


    Whether you're rolling in it or down to your last cent, the words we use for money are rich with meaning. So this week, Professor Roly Sussex takes us through the dialect of the dollar. 

    A Word in Your Ear: Small Talk

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2025 21:26


    "Hows the weather going?" "What have you been up to?"Small talk takes up a huge chunk of our daily conversation, but what role does it serve? Professor Roly Sussex explains the social purposes and expectations behind small talk. 

    A Word in Your Ear: Papal Phrases

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2025 21:14


    The death of Pope Francis has set off a linguistic wave as words once reserved for church halls are now hitting the headlines. Professor Roly Sussex will guide you through the ancient language that's making a comeback. 

    A Word in Your Ear: Phrasal Verbs

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2025 19:00


    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.

    A Word in Your Ear: Hip-hip-hooray

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2025 22:06


    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?

    A Word in Your Ear: English Dialects

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2025 23:08


    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.

    A Word in Your Ear: Footy Talk

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2025 24:10


    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.

    A Word in Your Ear: St Patrick's Day

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2025 27:34


    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. 

    A Word in Your Ear: Wild Weather Words

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2025 18:23


    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. 

    A Word in Your Ear: Americanisms Part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2025 22:12


    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. 

    A Word in Your Ear: Hello and Goodbye

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2025 22:01


    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.

    A Word in Your Ear: Articulation & Speech Patterns

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2025 22:50


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

    A Word in Your Ear: New Year & Christmas Alliteration

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 1, 2025 18:27


    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.

    A Word in Your Ear: Giving & Philanthropy

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2024 17:33


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Acronyms & Initialisms

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2024 22:09


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Americanisms

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2024 23:36


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Spooky Words

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2024 25:53


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

    A Word in Your Ear: The Language of Democracy

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2024 23:25


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Italian Cuisine

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2024 25:11


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Echo Phrases

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2024 22:30


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Onomatopoeia

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2024 25:42


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

    A Word in Your Ear: The Language of AFL

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 25, 2024 22:35


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Mispronunciation & Mondegreens

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2024 16:45


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Pirate Speak

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2024 24:54


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

    A Word in Your Ear: French Influences on Cooking Words

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2024 23:59


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

    A Word in Your Ear: The Language of Gen Alpha

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2024 24:57


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

    A Word in Your Ear: The Language of The News

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2024 26:34


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Hedges and Politeness

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2024 22:50


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Mispronunciations and Common Mistakes

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2024 23:15


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

    A Word in Your Ear: English's Newest Words

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2024 18:31


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

    A Word in Your Ear: The French Language

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2024 20:31


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Metaphors

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2024 25:26


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Manners and Politeness

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2024 23:43


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Grandparents and 'Cold Turkey'

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2024 18:34


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Written vs Spoken Languages

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2024 28:44


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

    A Word in Your Ear: Pub Names and Bar Chat

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2024 24:09


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

    A Word in Your Ear: The Language of Music

    Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2024 34:53


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

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