Kissed Her on the Stairs - 3 December 2012

<p>Do Americans use the same sign language as the Brits? And what do Japanese people use instead of "umm?" Grant and Martha cover language shifts across the globe. Plus, why we vote at polling places? And what goes into File 13? All this, plus a word quiz, commode vs toilet, saditty and bougie, and cute stuff that kids say!<br /><br />FULL DETAILS<br /><br />All languages evolve, and sign language is no exception. The British Sign Language Corpus Project has collected footage of nearly 250 deaf people across the U.K. and noticed lots of changes, especially as the internet has made it easier for hearing-impaired people to sign to more people. For example, the sign for "French people" is no longer a stereotypical mustache twirl—it's now made with a sign for "rooster," the unofficial symbol of France. If you sign, let us know what changes you've seen!<br /><br />Why do some folks call the toilet a commode? Originally, the commode was a piece of furniture you'd put the chamberpot in. Today, commode is still a common term heard in the American South. Others, though, use the term commode to denote a kind of cabinet, causing confusion when journalists mistook reports of Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham taking a bribe in the form of a pair of antique commodes worth more than $7000. What do you call your porcelain throne?<br /><br />So, um, where do those, er, filler words come from? Discourse particles, as they're also known, are used to fill those gaps when we're thinking of what to say but don't want to lose our turn in a conversation. English isn't the only language that has them, either. Spanish speakers often use este, and in Japanese, it's eto. Michael Erard has written at length about the subject in his book Um . . .<br /><br />If you had to say the word telephone in sign language, you'd probably do the thumb and pinky to the head. In the past, though, it was one fist to the ear, one fist to the mouth—just like the old fashioned candlestick phone! The current sign, though, is still a bit skeuomorphic.<br /><br