Birth of a nickname - John McWhorter
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Where do nicknames come from? Why are Ellens called Nellie and Edwards Ned? It’s all a big misunderstanding from the early days of the English language, a misunderstanding that even the word nickname itself derives from. John McWhorter tracks the accidental evolution of some familiar diminutives.
If language changed so much in the past, then why do you think we tend to think of changes in the language today as slang or mistakes?
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