A married couple has invented a lovely word to mean “I sympathize” that doesn’t sound quite so stilted. They simply say, salma. It’s an example of the private language couples develop. This is part of a complete episode...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski has a puzzle about subtracting letters from words. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Terminal Deletions” You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it...
Why do we speak to babies in high pitched voices? Often our eyes grow wide, we give big smiles, and we talk in exaggerated, singsongy voices because these are the things that infants respond to. Chances are this parental cooing has gone on since...
For some time now, linguists have been studying a style of speaking known as creaky voice. In the United States, it’s heard particularly heard among young white women in urban areas. New research about this phenomenon, also known as vocal fry...
Evidence-based keeps its hyphen. Dan from Rochester, Minnesota, who writes research protocols, has been right to restore it when the phrase works as a compound adjective before a noun. It’s also a good hyphen to keep after the verb, as in the...
Martha shares listener email about what to call that icy buildup in your car’s wheel wells. Fenderbergs, anyone? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Fenderbergs” A while back we had a call from someone who was asking...