Are we loosening our connection with language as more of our communication goes digital? Stephen gets his hands dirty looking at what we might lose - the physicality of text. Show more
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What links oops, mmm, ooh and aggh, with zap, pow and kerplunk? Strictly speaking this is a programme about sound symbolism. Stephen Fry links interjections and onomatopoeia. Show more
Fry's English Delight
Winter Special: Word Games
28 minutes
First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW
Stephen Fry has fun with word games and invites listeners to play along with the aid of Phill Jupitus, Sheila Dillon, Ben Schott and Britain's only University appointed enigmatist. Show more
Stephen Fry says 'listen to this, or else!' He investigates the language of persuasion. From July 2011. Show more
Stephen Fry says goodbye with the story of 'Hallow!' and how it became one of the world's favourite words. From August 2008. Show more
Stephen Fry peers at the tiny facets of linguistic brevity in telegrams, lyrics, poems and tweets. From July 2011. Show more
4 Extra Debut. When wrong English becomes right English, by dint of usage. Stephen Fry explores the English language. From August 2008. Show more
Stephen Fry tries to navigate through a rather bumpy area of the English language, the idea of speaking proper. From 2008. Show more
Stephen Fry is in dangerous territory. Is language and class still the contentious issue it used to be? From August 2011. Show more
It was once a noble oratorical art - now rhetoric is considered the misleading language of politicians and dictators. Stephen Fry tries to restore its original meaning. Show more
The history of English spelling is strewn with well-meaning attempts to simplify it. Stephen Fry asks why spelling got so difficult and whether it can ever be changed. Show more
The eXtraordinary story of the 24th letter of the alphabet, from adult movies to mathematics. With Stephen Fry. From September 2012. Show more
Human conversation, from gossip to drama and debate, is both verbal art and a social tool. With Stephen Fry. From August 2012. Show more
Stephen Fry on how we talk and write about mental ill health. It's a minefield, and Stephen has comedian and former psychiatric nurse Jo Brand as gentle guide. Show more
We love the idea of talking animals in fiction. But can animals learn to use language in real life? Stephen Fry investigates the connection between fact and fiction. Show more
Language can unlock memories but it can also tamper with the truth, as Stephen Fry discovers with guest Sir Simon Russell Beale. Show more
Have you ever been too enpufflicated to find your funny ding dong? Stephen Fry deciphers the appeal of secret languages with help from a New York Cop and a former MI6 agent. Show more
The F Word - its history, culture and legality. Stephen Fry invites Denis Norden, Kathy Burke, Graham Linehan and Geoffrey Robertson QC to ponder its power and its future. Show more
4 Extra Debut. Stephen Fry talks to David Hockney about how we see and describe colour, and how it can shed light on the way language works. From August 2012. Show more
British Sign Language is the first language of more than 70,000 deaf people in the UK. Stephen Fry examines its linguistics, history and culture. Show more