The wonders of the 'a-' prefix in English. 'Personal' versus 'personnel.'

<p>942. We’re diving deep into the chameleon-like nature of the "a-" prefix, tracing its journey from Latin, where it often started out as "ad-," to its function as a preposition in French, and its transformative role in Greek that gifts English words like "atypical" and "asymmetrical." You'll be wowed by the versatility of the seemingly humble "a-" prefix as we unveil its covert presence in words like "atom" and its power in creating modern English words like "asexual."</p><p>Then, we explore the difference between the words "personal" and "personnel" and give you a tip for getting the spelling right every time.</p><p>The "a-" prefix segment was by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kirk-hazen-384686">Kirk Hazen</a>, a data scientist at CVS Health and a linguist at West Virginia University. He is the author of Introduction to Language (Wiley) and can be found on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirk-hazen-phd/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirk-hazen-phd/</a></p><p>|<strong> Transcript:</strong> <a href="https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/personnel/transcript">https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/personnel/transcript</a></p><p>|<strong> </strong><a href="https://amzn.to/3KwgEo5"><strong>Preorder "The Grammar Daily"</strong></a></p><p>| <a href="https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/subscribe">Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates</a>.</p><p>| <a href="https://j.mp/3oooKmK">Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.</a></p><p>| <a href="https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/grammar-girl-s-peeve-wars">Peeve Wars card game</a>. </p><p>| <a href="https://bit.ly/GrammarPopBooks">Grammar Girl books</a>. </p><p>| HOST: Mignon Fogarty</p><p>| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or <a href="https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl">https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl</a></p><p>| Grammar Girl is part of <a href="https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/podcasts">the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network</a>.</p><ul><li>Audio Engineer: Nathan Semes</li><li>Director of Podcasts: Adam Cecil</li><l