A listener from Falmouth, Maine, disagrees with his Canadian friends about how to pronounce the word aunt. He says it shouldn’t sound like the name of the insect. But is that the way most people pronounce this word for your mother’s...
A former West Virginian reports that she grew up hearing a strange word: charny. In her part of the country, she says, it means “dirty” or “filthy,” and she always heard it pronounced “chee-YAR-nee.” This is part...
An Indiana listener complains that he can’t stand to hear presidential candidates pronounce the word pundit as pundint. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “The Pronunciation of “Pundit” as “Pundint”” Hello, you have...
A New York caller is incensed by the verb incent and a California listener is puzzled when his Southern relatives observe that his new baby is fixing to tune up whenever she’s about to start crying. This is part of a complete episode...
A caller shares colorful expressions from her Texas-born mother, including turkey tail and I’m gonna snatch you bald-headed. She also wonders why her mother says bread and butter every time they’re walking together and an object in their...
A Way with Words is a lively hour-long public radio show about language, on the air since 1998. Co-hosts Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett delve into word histories, solve grammar disputes, give and answer quizzes, and take calls from listeners...