In parts of Wisconsin where the dialect is heavily influenced by German, it’s not unusual to hear phrases, like “Let’s go buy some bakery” for “let’s buy some baked goods,” and “from little on...
Ishpy or ishpi, used for something icky, forbidden, or not to be touched, drew responses from listeners with Scandinavian family backgrounds. Reported family variants include ishie poo, ishta, and ish, especially in Norwegian-American households...
A while back we talked about what English sounds like to those who don’t speak it. Martha shares an evocative excerpt from Richard Rodriguez’s memoir Hunger of Memory, where he describes the “high nasal notes of middle-class...
Martha and Grant revisit a listener term for a particular doughnut, known as a “Bismark,” and share other listener mail about the “Bismarks” where they reside. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Bismark...