A Way with Words Episode: Linguistic Mixed Marriage (#1405, 2014 Fall Pledge Show) Show number: 140905 Air date: For broadcast starting Friday, September 5, 2014. This episode has not previously aired. ON-AIR STATION HOST INTRO: On this fundraising edition of "A Way with Words": It's all about relationships: When to correct your spouse, how to address those wedding invitations, and what kind of lingo to expect when dating a Texan. Martha and Grant look back at some of their favorite calls about etiquette in the home, at work, and the challenges that arise in mixed linguistic marriages. COPY FOR USE BY STATIONS: SUMMARY This week's episode is all about relationships: When to correct your spouse, how to address those wedding invitations, and what kind of lingo to expect when dating a Texan. In this special fundraising episode, Martha and Grant look back at some of their favorite calls about etiquette in the home, at work, and the challenges that arise in mixed linguistic marriages. FULL DETAILS Back in the day, Emily Post and company would recommend addressing a wedding invitation, Dear Mr. and Mrs. John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. But it's 2014, and Mrs. Schmidt's first name deserves to be included. So how do you address the invitations in a way that reflects modern sensibilities but respects the old standard etiquette? A caller who went to English boarding school and now lives in Montana didn't think anything of the word bollix when she used it around a friend, but lo and behold, her friend took serious offense. Here in the U.S., bollix is a funny, ironic exclamation, but it actually comes from a word meaning "testicles" and has far more negative connotations in the U.K. The verb to pussyfoot should not be considered offensive. It simply means to "tread lightly around something," like a nimble cat. But using any variation of pussy, especially in the workplace, comes with its risks. We have all kinds of terms for physically going someplace—stop by, drop by, come past, stop in, visit—and when one couple (she's Canadian, he's Australian) ran into a misunderstanding over the expressions pass by and call in, it pointed to a deeper divide in their linguistic backgrounds. When you're throwing something out, do you chuck it or chunk it? Both verbs are correct, but whichever you use likely points to where you're from, as in the case of Salena, a truck driver from New York who's dating a Texan. When you knock on the door of a public restroom and someone speaks up on the other end, you might hear them respond with the Spanish word for "Occupied," Ocupado. Why? It's simply one of a handful of foreignisms we use in English for no real reason other than it sounds cool. Then again, maybe some older folks are thinking of those plastic airline seat cards from the 1960's. This episode was hosted by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett. .... CONTACT INFORMATION Grant Barrett Co-host/co-producer of "A Way with Words" http://waywordradio.org cell/office (646) 286-2260 grantbarrett@gmail.com words@waywordradio.org Backup contact information: Stefanie Levine Senior Producer of "A Way with Words" cell/office (619) 890-4275 slevine@waywordradio.org