There are nearly 7,000 languages in the world today, and by some estimates, they're dying off at the rate of one every week. What's lost when a language dies? Martha and Grant discuss that question and efforts to record some endangered languages before they die out completely.
A caller named Holly confesses that there's a word that practically makes her break out in hives every time she hears it. Grant assures her she's not alone in her aversion to the word—Holly, cover your eyes—”moist.” Grant and Martha discuss the psychological aversion some people have to certain common terms.
Is there a word that makes you shudder in disgust? Unload in our discussion forum.
Discuss this episode here.
An Indianapolis woman calls to say she a great first date with a doctor, but was horrified to hear him suggest they meet at an “expresso” shop. She asks for dating advice: Should she correct the guy, keep quiet about this mispronunciation, or just hope he never orders espresso again? Would you go out on a second date with someone who orders a cup of “EX-presso”?
A California man says that he thinks he is increasingly hearing locutions like “50 is the new 30? and “pink is the new black” and “blogs are the new resumé.” He's curious about the origin of this “X is the new Y” formula.
You may recall earnestly singing “Kumbaya” around a campfire. But a caller observes that the title of this folk song has taken on a new, more negative meaning. Grant and Martha discuss the new connotations of “Kumbaya,” especially as used in politically conservative circles.
Puzzle Guy Greg Pliska presents a puzzle about William Snakespeare—you know, the great playwright whose works are just one letter different from those of his better-known fellow writer, William Shakespeare. It was Snakespeare, for example, who wrote that gripping prison drama, “Romeo and Joliet.”
Grant talks about a Jack Hitt article on dying languages in the New York Times, which points out that sometimes “the last living speaker” of a language…isn't.
A caller named Brian wonders whether a co-worker was right to correct him for saying that something minor was “of tertiary concern.” Does “tertiary” literally mean “third,” or can it be used to mean more generally “peripheral” or “not so important”?
A Milwaukee man is mystified about the use of the word “née” in his grandmother's obituary.
A “Slang This!” contestant guesses at the meaning of the slang terms “faux po” and “pole tax.”
A caller is curious about the colloquial expression “it has a catch in its getalong.” She used it to describe the family's faulty car. Her husband complained the phrase was too imprecise. Grant and Martha discuss this and similar expressions, like “hitch in its getalong” and “hitch in its giddyup.”
A California caller is puzzling over the expression “have your cake and eat it, too.” Shouldn't it be “eat your cake and have it, too”?
Grant tells the story of Eliezer Ben Yehuda, who revived the use of Hebrew outside of religious contexts. In 1850, no one spoke Hebrew as an everyday household language; now it's spoken by more than 5 million people.
That's all until next week! May your getalong keep getting along.
Very interesting to hear a person have such an intense aversion to 'moist' - and a Facebook group? WOW.
Funny thing is my favorite words are 'moist' and 'nubbin'. I'm not a big fan of 'moister' - I'll say 'more moist'. It's a sound thing for me.
Maybe it's like black licorice which I also love. Maybe 'moist' is a word that polarizes people. Hmmmm.
That was my reaction, Allan. Wow!
Re "moister" vs. "more moist," the sound thing is true for a lot of one-syllable words. Not to mention that "moister" just lends itself to too many bad puns. (Like, for example, "Smile when you say that, Moister!")
About Hebrew as a revived language:
You've almost got it right. It's not just that Hebrew was not spoken in the home "for millennia" before 1948, Hebrew was not spoken outside of Temple and prayer EVER before 1948, other than a few words that escaped into Yiddish (such as mishpacha - family) and presumably Ladino. Ancient "Hebrews" spoke Aramaic at home.
There was some controversy about adopting Hebrew as the language of Israel because of this, with Orthodox Jews complaining about the dilution of the Holiness of the tongue by taking it out of the Temple.
The dialect of Hebrew chosen was the Sephardic dialect, whose pronunciations differ slightly from the Ashkenasi dialect, causing immigrants from Europe to adapt to the local variety.
Ladino is to Spanish what Yiddish is to German. Knowing what we know about Spanish Jews, it is not surprising that there are only a handful of Ladino speakers left - literally.
My own prediction is that with Hebrew being spoken in Israel, Yiddish may well go the way of Ladino in a few generations, despite its deep cultural roots.
But I am by no means a real expert on this. Talk to your local Rabbi.
The wonderful and unfortunately defunct series "Dead Like Me" had a character with an aversion to the word "moist" also. I'd never heard of that phobia(?) before I saw the show. Now I find it's a world-wide phenomenon. Who knew?