Our Quiz Master John Chaneski has a game that’s all about the letter O. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Phrases with “O” Quiz” You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and...
The Pope has several Twitter feeds — and one of them’s entirely in Latin! But how do you adapt an ancient language to the modern world of selfies and hashtags? Plus, pit bull lovers are giving their dogs a linguistic makeover;...
Lori, an English teacher in North Augusta, South Carolina, grew up on Long Island and wonders why many of her students pronounce pin and pen alike but keep pit and pet distinct. The pin–pen merger is a vowel merger strongly associated with...
Is it time to replace the expression “the mentally ill”? Some argue the term unfairly stigmatizes a broad range of people. Also, the winter sport of… skitching, which involves snowy roads, leather shoes — and car bumpers...
Put on your shoes and socks. Born and bred. Lock and load. The reason these phrases are illogically ordered probably stems from the way one forms vowels in the mouth. If you think too hard about these terms, they start to look preposterous, the...
How do you pronounce the word won? Does it rhyme with sun or Juan? Some people, depending on their regional dialect, may hypercorrect their vowels and pronounce certain words in an unusual way. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...