Episode
Should you start a sentence with 'hopefully'? Why we might not recognize alien language.
- Published
- Apr 21, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 1086
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://shows.acast.com/grammar-girl/episodes/1178
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Summary
1178. Do you cringe when someone says "Hopefully, he'll pass the test"? This week, we look at why "hopefully" as a sentence adverb has been controversial for decades, even though the Associated Press accepted it in 2012, and it's been common since the 1930s. Then, we look at xenolinguistics — the study of alien languages — asking what human languages have in common and why (and how) alien languages might be completely different. The xenolinguistics segment was by Natalie Schilling . 🔗 Join the Grammar Girl Patreon. 🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) 🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses . 🔗 Subscribe to the newsletter . 🔗 Find an edited transcript . 🔗 Get Grammar Girl books . | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network . Audio Engineer: Castria Communications Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb | Theme music by Catherine Rannus . | Grammar Girl Social Media: YouTube . TikTok . Facebook . Threads . Instagram . LinkedIn . Mastodon . Bluesky . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.