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An Assemblage of Grandiose and Bombastic GrandiloquentsDo you take great pleasure out of using large and obscure words that no one understands? Perhaps you enjoy peppering a strange adjective into a work email, or finding a new verb to pursue as a hobby? Or perhaps youre a seasoned logophile such as mysel... Author: That's Not Canon Productions
Do you take great pleasure out of using large and obscure words that no one understands? Perhaps you enjoy peppering a strange adjective into a work email, or finding a new verb to pursue as a hobby? Or perhaps youre a seasoned logophile such as myself. Well, this is surely the podcast for you. An Assemblage of Grandiose and Bombastic Grandiloquents brings together all the worlds most interesting, bizarre, and fascinating language to teach you a new word every day. On Monday, we discuss interesting insults - brand new ways to disparage those who taunt you. On Tuesdays, its Konichiwa, bonjour, and hola to words that are not from our native English language. On wild card Wednesdays, youll be presented with something odd and strange, unlikely to be a word youve ever heard before, and Thursdays we turn to plants and animals for linguistic inspiration. Finally, Fridays find philias and phobias - all your favourite obsessions and worst fears. Itching for more auditory pleasure? We know you are! Search An Assemblage of Grandiose and Bombastic Grandiloquents on any good podcatcher to find more, and learn something new today! Or find us at thatsnotcanon.com to learn more. We cant wait to explore the wonderful world of words with you! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Language: en Genres: Education, History, Language Learning Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Narwhal
Episode 79
Monday, 18 January, 2021
Ahoy, my sea whisperers, and welcome back! Today we go to the depths of the Arctic seas, to explore a creature both mystical and beautiful - sometimes referred to as the sea unicorn, today’s word is: narwhal.A narwhal is a type of whale found in Canadian Arctic, Greenlandian, and Russian waters, that is distinctive due to the tusk that protrudes from its head. It is, in fact, a canine tooth that projects from the left side of the upper jaw, through the lip, and forms a left-handed helix spiral. The tusk is found in around fifteen percent of female narwhals but is far less common. It has been deduced that the tusk has no critical function, as females live to be the same age or longer, but proposed functions include use of the tusk as a weapon, for opening breathing holes in sea ice, in feeding, and as an acoustic organ. They have been known to dive as deep as 800 meters up to fifteen times a day, and have been recorded diving as deep as 1500 meters, one of the deepest known dives of all marine animals. Narwhals do not have a dorsal fin, which is perhaps an evolutionary adaptation to swimming easily under ice, to facilitate rolling, or to reduce surface area and heat loss.The word ‘narwhal’ comes from the Old Norse word ‘nár’, meaning ‘corpse’ and ‘hvalr’ meaning ‘whale’. This is supposedly in reference to the whale’s pigmentation, which is grey and mottled, similar to that of a drowned sailor. Adding to the comparison of this cheery image is the narwhal’s summertime habit of ‘logging’, where the whale will lie still at or near the surface of the sea. The scientific name, ‘Monodon monoceros’, is of Greek derivation, and means ‘one-tooth, one-horn’, where ‘mono’ means ‘one’, ‘don’ means ‘tooth’ - as in orthodontist, and ‘ceros’ means ‘horn’ - as in rhinoceros. (the ‘rhino’ in rhinoceros means ‘nose’ as in ‘rhinoplasty’.) Isn’t language wonderful?Written by Taylor Davidson, Read by Zane C WeberSubscribe to us on ITUNES, STITCHER, SPOTIFY, or your podcatcher of choice.Find us on FACEBOOK or TWITTERBecome a Patron of That’s Not Canon Productions at Patreon!Email us at Grandiloquentspodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
