MUSIC: Hanging on the Telephone/Blondie AA: Im Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER -- some tips on telephone etiquette. MUSIC: ...dont leave me hanging on the telephone, dont leave me hanging on the telephone... RS: One pers...

MUSIC: Syncopated Clocks/Leroy Anderson AA: Im Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster -- time for some slang! This past week, the United States went off Daylight Savings Time and onto Standard Time for the next six months. So w...

AA: Ive Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble. This week on Wordmaster -- come with us to the American Midwest to meet a young man who teaches English to speakers of other languages ... lots of other languages. RS: His name is Josh Atherton. He taught Eng...

AA: Im Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster -- we answer some listener mail, starting with this question sent by e-mail from Siva Kumar in Madras, in Tamil Nadu, India. RS: Dear Avi and Rosanne, I would like to know the oppos...

AA: Im Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster -- more about terrorism and language. TAPE: CUT ONE -- BUSH Now is the time to draw a line in the sand against the evil ones. RS: President Bush, speaking this past week. Geoff Nunb...

AA: Im Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster -- language and the impact of the September eleventh terrorist attacks on the United States. RS: Start with something as simple as the date. September eleventh, or 9-11 as Americans...

AA: Im Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster -- how a piece of land between Europe and Asia got the name America. RS: The name honors the Italian-born explorer and navigator Amerigo Vespucci. America first appeared on a world...

AA: Im Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble with Wordmaster. Some time ago, a listener wrote to ask if there is a difference between America and United States. We think this is a good time to answer that question. RS: Recently we read about an effort by...

AA: This is Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster -- did you hear? Were going to talk about gossip! RS: Idle talk, chatty talk, rumors or facts of an intimate nature -- these are some dictionary definitions for what Americans...

AA: This is Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster -- as delegates in South Africa discuss racism, we discuss the language of race. RS: About thirteen percent of Americans are African American. They are now rivaled in number by...