Diane in Frankfort, Kentucky, says her mother always pronounced the word wash with an R sound in it. This pronunciation of wash as “warsh” reflects what linguists call the intrusive R or excrescent R, a form of what’s known as...
In Appalachia, it’s fairly common to pronounce chimney as if it were spelled chimley or chimbley is fairly common in Appalachia. This pronunciation is an artifact of immigration in areas originally settled hundreds of years ago by people from...
border shopping n.— «Since coming back to Canada, he’s tried to cross again, unsuccessfully, at other ports of entry—because his U.S. employer still wants him back. Gibbons said, each time, he was made to feel more and more like a...
jackpot baby n.— «Our preseason favorite: Rep. Russell Pearce’s plan to deny birth certificates to kids born to people who entered the country illegally. Guess Russell thinks the rule of immigration law is now far more important than the...
sanctuary city n.— «Enforcing immigration law “really isn’t our job,” he said. “That’s the INS’s…This is a sanctuary city, and we have city policies we have to abide by.”» —“Hundreds line up to get...
sleeper n.— «Railroads that come out of Mexico must deal routinely with the “sleepers,” as those who try to hitch a ride on the northbound trains are called.» —“A Way Out of the Immigration Mess” by Mike...