A Delaware listener wonders about her grandparents’ use of the phrase I beg your pardon, which sounds a bit old-fashioned to her and her peers. Her grandparents were prim and proper, and used this expression whenever they felt slighted or...
Matt, a new college grad in Austin, Texas, wants guidance about what kinds of things are appropriate to share during conversations in the workplace. Sociolinguist Janet Holmes has extensively researched and written about this topic, including in...
Is there a difference between the adverbs maybe and perhaps? They’re basically synonyms, but of the two, perhaps tends to appear in language of a slightly more formal language register. The affected language in an old Taster’s Choice coffee...
When Julie, a journalism student at California’s San Francisco State University, got her dream job covering the San Francisco Giants for a season, she noticed while transcribing interviews that the players seemed to use the terms somebody...
When writing a business letter, what’s a modern salutation that doesn’t sound as stuffy as “Dear Sir” or “Dear Madam”? “To Whom It May Concern,” perhaps? The answer depends on the context and the intended audience. This is part of a complete episode...
Is saying “Yes, Ma’am” and “No, Sir” when addressing someone in conversation too formal or off-putting? Not if it’s clear that those niceties come naturally to you. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Sincere Niceties” Hello, you have...