Ben Schott: An Unexpectedly Essential Guide to Language

<p>his week’s <em>Book Club</em> podcast is Ben Schott. The author of the world- (or downstairs-loo-) conquering <em>Schott’s Original Miscellany</em> returns with <em>Schott’s Significa</em>, a deeply reported and constantly surprising book in which he uses the private languages of various communities – from gondoliers to graffiti writers and from Swifties to sommeliers – as a way of understanding their worlds. Ben tells me about how the project came together, how he was inspired by the folklorists Iona and Peter Opie pinning the butterfly of playground games – and why doing the shoe-leather reporting yields results that you could never get from Google or ChatGPT.</p><p>Become a <em>Spectator </em>subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to <a href="spectator.co.uk/follow-your-podcasts/"; rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">spectator.co.uk/adfree</a> to find out more.</p><br><p>For more <em>Spectator</em> podcasts, go to <a href="spectator.co.uk/podcasts/"; rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">spectator.co.uk/podcasts</a></p><br><p>Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk</p>

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