American English wasn't the only option for asserting our independence in the minds of some of the Founding Fathers. They also considered making French, Greek, and other languages the "American" language.

Learn about that and much (much!) more in this week's Grammar Girl interview with Gabe Henry, author of "Enough is Enuf" about simplified spelling.

Watch: youtu.be/VmfUBmf07ek

Read: grammar-girl.simplecast.com/ep…

Listen: pod.link/173429229

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I've heard from multiple mothers who were thrilled to finally understand why their baby said "dada" before "mama": it's because of the way the babies' sound-making develops. Oral sounds like “d” and “b” appear more frequently in early babble than nasal sounds like “m.”

Valerie Fridland has lot of other great insights too about "mama" and "dada" in this week's podcast. Check it out!

Read: grammar-girl.simplecast.com/ep…

Watch: youtu.be/Gg38QD6QzIw

Listen: pod.link/173429229

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Wishing you an OK day on March 23 — National OK Day! 👍

Back in 1839, the Boston Morning Post published the first known instance of "OK" (writing it "o.k."). It was an abbreviation for the joking misspelling of "all correct": "oll korrekt."

Check out the whole story of how "OK" survived when similar funny abbreviations faded away:

Read: grammar-girl.simplecast.com/ep…

Watch: youtu.be/wSEJcbPlYB8

Listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/…

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Ever wonder why Americans spell "canceled" with one L but still spell "cancellation" with two? In this week's podcast, we explore how spelling rules, stress patterns, and historical quirks explain this inconsistency.

And then, @glennf looks at the history of "fine" print — from typesetting in smoky print shops to its modern use in hiding legal loopholes.

Read: grammar-girl.simplecast.com/ep…

Listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/…

Watch: youtu.be/Ak2A_m4Z47o

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Have you ever wondered about the difference between stock and broth? A street and a boulevard? A maze and a labyrinth?

Well, Eli Burnstein has you covered. We talked about all these questions and more in the most recent Grammar Girl podcast on his "Dictionary of Fine Distinctions."

Listen while you do some cooking, drive home from work, or go for a walk!

LISTEN: pod.link/173429229

READ: grammar-girl.simplecast.com/ep…

WATCH: youtu.be/DFlBWiJJouQ

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