The Brian Lehrer Show Your Family's 'Secret Language'
Sep 15, 2025
Families often create their own unique vocabularies known as 'familect.' Listeners share their personal favorite words, filled with sentimental value and hilarious backstories. From whimsical terms like 'bentamantina' to heartfelt anecdotes, these secret languages evoke nostalgia and celebrate family identity. The joyful exploration shows how language can deepen connections and create lasting memories across generations.
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Families Build Private Dialects
- Families routinely invent private words when children mispronounce or create terms that then stick.
- Linguists call these family-specific dialects a 'familect' that can last generations.
Uncle Bicey Became 'Unbuckle My Seat'
- An intern shared
Bridge Nickname Sticks
- A family transformed the Verrazano Narrows Bridge into the playful 'Nazo Nazo'.
- The nickname persisted across years as a permanent family label.