
Pardon Our French - 19 April 2010
Andy
Description
<div style="text-align: left;">South African English is a rich mix of Afrikaans, English, and indigenous languages such as Zulu and Xhosa. Martha and Grant discuss some favorite terms from that part of the world, including lekker, diski, and ubuntu. Also, where'd we get the term hurt locker and why do we say 'pardon my French' after cursing? What's the difference between supposedly and supposably? And is having a vast vocabulary filled with obscure words really all that important?<br><br>Looking ahead to the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/, Martha and Grant discuss some terms you might hear there. By the way, here's where you can learn that South African diski dance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fML326GXJPY.<br><br>Why do we say 'pardon my French' after cursing?<br><br>A Dallas listener says he was confused at first when a friend from rural North Dakota reported coming home and finding a moose in his kitchen. Only later did he learn what difference the so-called 'Canadian raising.'<br><br>Quiz Guy Greg Pliska presents a puzzle about the Oxcar awards, given to fictitious films, the names of which differ by just one letter from the names of the real 2010 Best Picture Oscar nominees. Here's one such plot: 'George Clooney plays a corporate downsizer who avoids close personal relationships by spending his time climbing evergreen trees.'<br><br>Which adverb is usually correct: supposably or supposedly?<br><br>What's a round-heeled woman?<br><br>The 2010 winner of the 'Best Picture' Oscar has a Seattle woman wondering about the term hurt locker. Ben Zimmer wrote about it recently in his column at the Visual Thesaurus http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2195/ and we talk about it, too.<br><br>And here's the searing poem by Brian Turner called 'The Hurt Locker http://www.fishousepoems.org/archives/brian_turner/the_hurt_locker.shtml120.'<br><br>The hosts discuss Ammon Shea's recent New York Times Magazine column http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/magazine/14FOB-onlanguage-t.html abou
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Pardon Our French - 19 April 2010
Andy