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Episode 2

Episode 2 of 6

Mary is examining our rapidly changing language: what is it and why do we fight about it? She meets deaf musician Dame Evelyn Glennie, who discusses how her life has been affected by the pandemic.

Mary Beard examines our rapidly changing language. A stand-off between grammar sticklers and language radicals has fuelled the culture wars: texts and Twitter versus the Queen鈥檚 English. Mary talks to Shuggie Bain author Douglas Stuart on how his clever use of language won him the Booker Prize last year, with Game of Thrones star Kate Dickie reading excerpts from her Glasgow home.

Journalist Ian Hislop shows us how we鈥檝e been communicating in a social media style for two hundred years, and there鈥檚 heated debate about how our language is changing with John Humphrys, Kit de Waal and Helen Zaltzman. Key to the programme is Dame Evelyn Glennie, the musician who is profoundly deaf and communicates powerfully through her music. She鈥檚 sent Mary a beautiful waterphone so they share over zoom what it means to literally feel the music, and Glennie give us an exclusive performance to play out the programme.

29 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Mary Beard
Series Producer Sandy Raffan
Executive Producer Tanya Hudson

Broadcasts

Front Row Late

Front Row Late

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