The Problem with Judges Acting Like Linguists | Otherwords

Описание: In a court of law, your fate can be determined by how a judge interprets a word or sentence... but should judges be acting as armchair linguists?

Otherwords is a PBS web series on Storied that digs deep into this quintessential human trait of language and finds the fascinating, thought-provoking, and funny stories behind the words and sounds we take for granted. Incorporating the fields of biology, history, cultural studies, literature, and more, linguistics has something for everyone and offers a unique perspective on what it means to be human.

Host: Erica Brozovsky, Ph.D.
Creator/Director: Andrew Matthews & Katie Graham
Writer: Andrew Matthews
Producer: Katie Graham
Editor/Animation: Dano Johnson
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Fact Checker: Yvonne McGreevy

Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell

Stock Images from Shutterstock
Music from APM Music
Otherwords is a production of Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
© 2026 PBS. All rights reserved.

sources:
https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vo...
https://www.neh.gov/article/corpus-li...
https://taxlawcenter.org/moore-versus...
https://www.law.nyu.edu/sites/default...
https://reason.com/volokh/2021/10/31/...
https://www.law.georgetown.edu/icap/w...
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1992/91-8674
https://www.fedbar.org/wp-content/upl...
https://www.oyez.org/cases/2015/14-8358
https://ballsandstrikes.org/legal-cul...
https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/7/231...
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/19/109356...