WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Is It Theater or Theatre?

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh. There's Chuck

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<v Speaker 1>and this is short stuff. Uh. And the one where

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<v Speaker 1>we get into explaining why some places you go to

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<v Speaker 1>see a movie or a play or spelled theater th

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<v Speaker 1>h E a t r E, and others are spelled

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<v Speaker 1>theater th h e a t e r and has

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<v Speaker 1>nothing to do with one being futuristic or anything like that.

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<v Speaker 1>And I love this because like when we go on

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<v Speaker 1>live tour, Chuck, it's almost invariably theater, but um, there

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<v Speaker 1>every once in a while you run up against the

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<v Speaker 1>place of venue that spells it theater with the E

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<v Speaker 1>er instead of R e um, and it's it's mind boggling,

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<v Speaker 1>it's it's it's probably the worst thing that happens on

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<v Speaker 1>tours that is having to deal with the differentiation between

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<v Speaker 1>those two. Yeah, it's funny at the head of feeling

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<v Speaker 1>you were going to mention that, because when we do

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<v Speaker 1>our our tour website there through through our old peals

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<v Speaker 1>at squarespace, Um, I always have to go back and

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<v Speaker 1>double check, and you're right, it usually is r E

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<v Speaker 1>it seems like. And I like the way that looks

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<v Speaker 1>on paper and on a billboard. Yeah, it looks very regal.

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<v Speaker 1>It reminds you of like rich, yeah, rich, like umu

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<v Speaker 1>red deep red velvet curtains and things like that. It's

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<v Speaker 1>like an Evening with Josh and Chuck, not just Josh

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<v Speaker 1>and Chuck comes to Josh and Chuck. If you one

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<v Speaker 1>who cares, you know, that's the E R version. The

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<v Speaker 1>R E version is like you said, in the Evening

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<v Speaker 1>with Josh and Chuck. That's right. Uh. So this all

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<v Speaker 1>came about from one man and his name was Noah Webster.

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<v Speaker 1>And at first I was thinking, wait a minute, did

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<v Speaker 1>mel Gibson play him in a movie? But I looked

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<v Speaker 1>it up and that was the guy who was writing

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<v Speaker 1>the Oxford English Dictionary. Not know a Webster who wrote

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<v Speaker 1>Webster's Dictionary? What book was that? A movie? Was that

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<v Speaker 1>The Man with Two Faces? No, it was, uh the

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<v Speaker 1>Professor and the Madman. I think I have never heard

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<v Speaker 1>of that. Okay, So I have, so I've heard the

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<v Speaker 1>story before that there there was a dictionary out there.

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<v Speaker 1>I thought it was the American English Dictionary, not not

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<v Speaker 1>the Oxford one. That like, there was a guy who

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<v Speaker 1>um was in an asylum for decades and contributed like

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<v Speaker 1>significantly to that dictionary, Right, that's the one. Yeah, I

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<v Speaker 1>haven't seen it, but I've heard I've heard good things

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't know was in it. Yeah, the famous anti Semite. Right.

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<v Speaker 1>So um, we're talking instaid about the other dictionary, not

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<v Speaker 1>the Oxford English Dictionary, the American English Dictionary created by

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<v Speaker 1>Noah Webster, who turns out to have been a bit

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<v Speaker 1>of a Polly math back in the eighteenth century. Cool dude,

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<v Speaker 1>from what I understand, Yeah, he seems like a quite

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<v Speaker 1>the renaissance man. He was born in Connecticut in seventeen

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<v Speaker 1>fifty eight, and after the Revolutionary War started in seventeen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy five, he was in college at Yale. War ends

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<v Speaker 1>he's uh in a militia, like a Patriot militia, graduates

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<v Speaker 1>and then becomes a teacher and then an attorney, and

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<v Speaker 1>then started to say, your articles of Confederation or garbage

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<v Speaker 1>in the way they're they're laid out, and it would

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<v Speaker 1>be much better if you did these things. Yeah. I

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't find what he was um credited with as far

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<v Speaker 1>as that goes, although I did see um some free

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<v Speaker 1>speech stuff. He may have been a big advocate of

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<v Speaker 1>free speech. Well, he was a member of Anti Slavery Society.

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<v Speaker 1>So he was a founder of the Connecticut Society for

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<v Speaker 1>the Abolition of Slavery. Yeah, so that tracks. And he

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<v Speaker 1>also helped found Amherst College in Massachusetts. But he's known

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<v Speaker 1>as a dictionary guy. Yeah. And he had this whole

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<v Speaker 1>thing where he felt like America needed to come into

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<v Speaker 1>its own intellectually or celebrate its culture more intellectually, and

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<v Speaker 1>that a good way to do that was to kind

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<v Speaker 1>of separate itself, um, education wise from the old British

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<v Speaker 1>system in the old British books and used brand new, um,

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<v Speaker 1>beautiful American books. Uh. And he there weren't any at

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<v Speaker 1>the time, so he said about creating one himself. He

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<v Speaker 1>found out like, actually, little American school kids are learning

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<v Speaker 1>from the old British books, and he was very upset

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<v Speaker 1>about that. So he said, you know what, I'm going

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<v Speaker 1>to create something different. Yeah. And pre dictionary, which we'll

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<v Speaker 1>get to after the break, he wrote something called the

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<v Speaker 1>American Spelling Book, um, which was also referred to as

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<v Speaker 1>the Blue Backed Speller. I guess at a blue cover

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<v Speaker 1>on the back is the only I can think of,

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<v Speaker 1>or it was referring to a character who had a

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<v Speaker 1>blue back in the book, maybe so, but it was

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<v Speaker 1>a big success. It's sold about a hundred million copies

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<v Speaker 1>by three which is just astounding. Uh. And we know

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<v Speaker 1>now because we have a book that is not sold

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<v Speaker 1>a hundred million copies. No, no, chuck, it was a

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<v Speaker 1>hundred million copies by three years. That's really astounding. And

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<v Speaker 1>it's still in print today. But it helps standardize American

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<v Speaker 1>English for teachers. And then he thought, this is great,

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<v Speaker 1>but what I really want to do is write a dictionary.

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<v Speaker 1>And we're gonna take a little break and tell you

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<v Speaker 1>about that result right after this. Sorry geh okay. So uh,

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<v Speaker 1>Noah Webster is riding high on his blue backed speller

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<v Speaker 1>in this excess of it, and he's he's done something

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<v Speaker 1>he wanted to do, which was, um, help d British

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<v Speaker 1>eyes American school kids learning. That was a good, good

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<v Speaker 1>first start. But then he said, you know, yes, I

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<v Speaker 1>believe the children are future. Teach them well and let

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<v Speaker 1>them leave the way, etcetera. But I also think that

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<v Speaker 1>we need to get to the adults as well. We

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<v Speaker 1>need to just basically create a tome, a text that

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<v Speaker 1>is the definitive guide to American English. Because everybody's running

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<v Speaker 1>around here saying things a little differently, but we're still

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<v Speaker 1>spelling them the British way, and that has to end. Say,

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<v Speaker 1>I know, ah, Webster, that's right. Uh. And it ended

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<v Speaker 1>up being that seventy thousand word dictionary of the American Dictionary.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sorry, And American Dictionary of the English Language is

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<v Speaker 1>the full title. And he said, you know the word color,

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't need that. You you don't hear it. We're

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<v Speaker 1>wasting inc drop it. Uh. Plow you want to plow

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<v Speaker 1>a field, just go out in p l O W

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<v Speaker 1>that field. Don't p l O U g h that

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<v Speaker 1>field because that's a waste of time. Right. What you

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<v Speaker 1>want to do is go hit it with the W

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<v Speaker 1>the p l O W and um. I'm very grateful

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<v Speaker 1>to him that we we have words like draft spelled

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<v Speaker 1>with n F rather than a U g H or

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<v Speaker 1>you know, plow spelled the right way um, and color

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<v Speaker 1>without a U or honor without a U. It all

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<v Speaker 1>makes sense. And I guess it had to do with um.

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<v Speaker 1>The like I said, the way that people were pronouncing

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<v Speaker 1>words in America. We're still saying the same word, but

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<v Speaker 1>we were we were saying it slightly differently, So it

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<v Speaker 1>made sense to kind of alter the spelling. Um some

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<v Speaker 1>words he went after. They did not stick, though, did

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<v Speaker 1>they chuck? Yeah, it looks so funny on paper. I

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<v Speaker 1>wish they would have stuck. Because he proposed spelling tongue

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<v Speaker 1>t u n g, which for some reason just looks

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<v Speaker 1>inly dirtier. It looks it's sexual for some reason to

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<v Speaker 1>me and women, w O M e N he proposed

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<v Speaker 1>should be spelled w I M And I'm sorry w

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<v Speaker 1>I M M E N women. Yeah, which sends derogatory

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<v Speaker 1>almost like sounds dirty women, sounds like who cares kind

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<v Speaker 1>of spelling, you know what I'm saying. So I'm glad

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<v Speaker 1>that those two stayed the same. Yeah, and it just

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<v Speaker 1>looks very strange. Of course, had they made those changes,

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<v Speaker 1>we would look at tongue t o in g u

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<v Speaker 1>e and think that looks very like draft d r

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<v Speaker 1>a U g h T. We would think that looks

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<v Speaker 1>weird because it's just what you know growing up. But

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<v Speaker 1>theater is what we're here to talk about. And theater

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<v Speaker 1>was one of those uh I think pre Webster it

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<v Speaker 1>was always are in that right, Yes, that was There

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<v Speaker 1>was no other way to spell theater except t h

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<v Speaker 1>E a T R E, and Webster came along and said,

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<v Speaker 1>nuts to that. Yeah, swap them out, but it's this

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<v Speaker 1>is what an example of one that kind of half took.

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<v Speaker 1>There is no correct way you can use either one.

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<v Speaker 1>There is a notion within the world of theater that

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<v Speaker 1>if you're talking about the world of theater, you'd say,

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<v Speaker 1>are you spell it with an R E? But you

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<v Speaker 1>actually perform at a theater with an E R And

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<v Speaker 1>I think I kind of knew that. But that's not

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<v Speaker 1>even you know, the hard and fast rule, which I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>that makes sense to me, But I don't think, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>I've ever encountered anybody who actually, like any any normal person,

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<v Speaker 1>um like just walking around that believe that or that

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<v Speaker 1>held that that viewpoint of view. No, I mean, I

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<v Speaker 1>think I've heard that. Like I said, theater with an

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<v Speaker 1>R E might refer to the industry of putting on

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<v Speaker 1>plays and shows, but I've never seen anyone, right, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>in the theater. We perform at a theater and then

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<v Speaker 1>spell that to different ways. Yeah, I just I've never

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<v Speaker 1>encountered it before. But it does make sense, and apparently

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<v Speaker 1>some people do kind of see see the world like that.

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<v Speaker 1>But for the rest of us, we're just gonna stay

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<v Speaker 1>muddled and confused till the end of time, swapping out

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<v Speaker 1>R E and E R for theater because in the end,

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't really matter. Whoever you're talking to is gonna

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<v Speaker 1>know what you're talking about. And if you're a prescriptivist,

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<v Speaker 1>no descriptivists, that's that's language, that's what counts. That's right.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think the end result is hopefully sometime next

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<v Speaker 1>fall and winter you might be able to see, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>spend an evening with Josh and Chuck at a theatra,

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<v Speaker 1>right or if um, you're just kind of feeling super

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<v Speaker 1>American at a theater. Okay, Well, since we said theater

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<v Speaker 1>two different ways, I think everybody it's clear that this

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<v Speaker 1>is the end of short stuff, and short stuff says audios.

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff you should know is production of I Heart Radios.

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