What the way we pronounce Iran says about us. Odorous or malodorous? When smell words stink.

1174. This week, we look at why we pronounce "Iran" and "Iraq" differently and what those pronunciations reveal about our political beliefs. Then, we look at the "smelly" words that confuse people, including "odorous," which started out meaning "fragrant" but now mostly describes bad smells. The "Iran" segment was written by Valerie Fridland, a professor of linguistics at the University of Nevada in Reno and author of the soon-to-be-released book " Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents." A version of it originally appeared in The Conversation and appears here through a Creative Commons license . And you can find Valerie at valeriefridland.com . 🔗 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 . 🔗

You can listen to What the way we pronounce Iran says about us. Odorous or malodorous? When smell words stink. online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

What the way we pronounce Iran says about us. Odorous or malodorous? When smell words stink. is an episode from Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by Mignon Fogarty, Inc..

This episode is 16:11 long.

This episode was published on Apr 7, 2026.

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