How does social context shape our perception of language? When hiking the Appalachian Trail, a young woman from Wyoming found that fellow hikers assumed she was from another country, not only because of how she spoke, but also how she looked...
Dennis, a native of Colombia, grew up using the term la ñapa to describe a little something extra, such as an additional piece of bread added to your order gratis when you visit a bakery. His husband, who is from Louisiana, uses the term lagniappe...
Growing up in Thibodaux, Louisiana, Ashlie was accustomed to using many Cajun terms, such as sha bébé, a version of cher bébé meaning “poor baby,” ya mom ‘n’ ’em for “your family and circle of friends,” and lagniappe, meaning...
A lexical lagniappe at a gas pump leads to a discussion of the word serendipity, coined by 18th-century writer Horace Walpole. This is part of a complete episode.
In South Carolina, if someone offers you a broadus or something for broadus, say “Yes, please!” It’s a little extra something a store clerk might give to a customer. As we discussed in an earlier episode, this kind of “gift...
Hi, all -- In this week's episode of "A Way with Words": If you want to make a room cooler, do you "turn up" the air conditioning? Or do you "turn it down"? Also, "croaker" meaning a...