Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

Radio 4,30 Nov 2022,18 mins

Piracy on the Page

Four Thought

Available for over a year

Author Joe Nutt argues we need to fight back against what he calls 'linguistic piracy'. Joe is concerned that activists are challenging the commonly-understood meaning of words. "The trust which becomes naturally embedded over time in any shared language, is under threat," he argues, and now "the English language itself is creaking under the strain of a sustained barrage of abuse". Producer: Giles Edwards

Programme Website
More episodes