Word of Mouth

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Series exploring the world of words and the ways in which we use them

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Word of Mouth: The Language of Sci-Fi

The Language of Sci-Fi

BBC Radio 4 - Word of Mouth, The Language of Sci-Fi

Michael Rosen explores how the vocabulary of sci-fi has entered everyday speech.

The online sci-fi dictionary is a treasure trove of words related to fantasy and science fiction.

Are you a lover of SF and all things fantasy, or merely a fan?

Jesse Sheidlower formerly of the Oxford English Dictionary began compiling a dictionary of sci-fi 20 years ago and has been updating it ever since. He brings Michael Rosen up to speed with current parlance in the SF world (true fans prefer this term rather than sci-fi) and explores the origins of words and sayings to do with robotics, extraterrestrial life and space exploration.  
It's surprising how many examples of what was once the language of fiction have become our everyday reality. Robots of course are the obvious example but a few decades ago Space Station would have sounded like the stuff of fantasy.

Producer: Maggie Ayre

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