The World in Words 16: naming your child, Senegalese scrabble and “um”

Why is Ghana’s most famous citizen Kofi Annan so named? Hint: if he’d been born on a different day he might have been called Kwame. Plus, in New Zealand a judge has allowed a 9-year-old girl to change her name from Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii. In parts of Honduras, the name Radiator is popular. Yup, it isn’t just in the United States where people are given ridiculous names. Also, in this podcast why the Senegalese love scrabble, and a conversation with Michael Erard, author of “Um,” a book about slips, stumbles and verbal blunders.