What's the one word that comes to mind when you hear the name J. D. Salinger? "Masterpiece"? "Recluse"? How about the "F-word"? 

An Indianapolis listener came across an article about Salinger's use of that word, and that got him wondering about the linguistic terms for inserting at least one extra syllable into a word to make it more emphatic.

--

A Way with Words is funded by its listeners: http://waywordradio.org/donate

Get your language question answered on the air! Call or write with your questions at any time:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 

United States and Canada toll-free (877) WAY-WORD/(877) 929-9673

London +44 20 7193 2113

Mexico City +52 55 8421 9771

Donate: http://waywordradio.org/donate

Site: http://waywordradio.org/

Podcast: http://waywordradio.org/podcast/

Forums: http://waywordradio.org/discussion/

Newsletter: http://waywordradio.org/newsletter/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/wayword/

Skype: skype://waywordradio 

Copyright 2011, Wayword LLC.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices