#45 – A Grammar Mayday Over “Mayday” & the Latest in Words You Should Know

Words You Should Know

A few stolen minutes out of your day to talk words and communication, because our daily lives are surrounded by the evolution and influence of words. Forget the grammar police. There is so much more to this conversation.

Episode #45 – A Grammar Mayday Over “Mayday”

Approximate transcript:

Welcome to episode number 45, where we’re talking distress signals—not because we’re feeling distressed necessarily, at least I hope note, but because there are secret grammar mistakes hiding in plain sight if you know where to look for them. Really? Yes indeed. Or if you don’t have language correction tendencies, let’s bring it down to a simple question: where does the word “Mayday” come from?

How about S.O.S.?

There are stories here, folks, and we’ll get into them today.

But first, let’s dive into…

The Latest in Word, Language & Writing News

And we have a lot worth touching on today. Rather than going in depth into any of these stories, I’m going to remind you that links to all of these updates are in the show notes.

Here are the top 7 language news stories since our last episode:

• Helsinki’s mayor recently suggested the Finnish capitol should be an “English-language city.”
• The Oxford English Dictionary just had a “K-update,” adopting over 20 new words from the Korean language.
• Merriam Webster’s definition of the term “Anti-vaccer” has gone under attack.
• The New York Times declared recently, “Gender pronouns are changing, and it’s exhilarating.” (I love that energy.)
• Blockchain technology could provide secure communications for robot teams. (Because, yeah, we’ve got to think about these things too)
• A Facebook exec on moderating hate speech outside the US, answered, and I quote “Language is a challenge.” (Ha, yep. And wow the language stories we could go into with Facebook, but I’m holding off since this is a quick review)
• And lastly, Psychology Today just published an article called “Why terms of address matter,” speaking to the idea of what we call one another having consequences for the relationship. (Fascinating. Seriously.)

That’s seven stories.

There’s so much more to cover. In fact, I had trouble narrowing down the top stories for this episode, so follow my social media feeds to stay in the loop with the latest in communications news. Follow me @KrisSpisak on Twitter and @KSWriting on Facebook.

Links to everything I’ve mentioned are in the show notes on my website. Intrigued? Excited about what you can bring to your next water cooler conversation? (Whether it’s an actual water cooler or something along those lines on Zoom?) You could argue that how we as people connect with each other is changing faster than ever, couldn’t you.

More on communications news next time, though. It’s time to dive into to today’s…

English Language History & Trivia

Have you ever wondered where the word “Mayday” comes from? Does it have something to do with the first of May and a Maypole? No.

Does it have something to do with permissions and a Jennifer Garner movie, where the grownups say yes to everything the kids ask for a single day? Nope, that’s “Yes Day,” not Mayday. “Can” vs. “may” conversations aside…

So, mayday, mayday. Let’s explore where this term comes from.

Let’s set the scene.

You’re on a ship, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean. A storm, far out on the horizon, is already producing waves that bounce your vessel up and down, into peaks and valleys, crests and troughs, and then comes the wind, tearing at anyone on deck, and the rain, whipping the sleeves of your shirt and the hair on your head, and the thunder that booms so loud it echoes across the roiling sea…

Okay, am I channeling Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Caruso? Maybe. Maybe not.

But what is a ship captain to do? How do they signal their distress?

Mayday. Mayday. It’s spelled as one word, not two, for you know if there was a space involved, we’d be back to the first of May, talking picnics and May pole dances.

You know the word, but what about it’s origin?

Supposedly, “mayday” was coined by Frederick Stanley Mockford, a senior radio officer in Croydon, a town in England, but whether he’s the first official person to say this is not quite proven. That’s not the important part of the story.

Mayday was first tested as an emergency distress signal on planes that flew between England and France across the English Channel, as well as with air traffic between the U.S. and France.

You’re seeing France as a big part of this story, and it will all start coming together for you here. The word “Mayday” comes from the French phrase similarly pronounced “m’aider” (excuse my terrible French accent; that’s “M-apostrophe-A-I-D-E-R), which is a simple, literal request. Help me. And when that call out is Anglicized, we get “mayday” (M-A-Y-D-A-Y).

But wait … there’s a problem. This must be fake news. Why the hesitation? Well, it comes down to grammar. Because while logically, to one who doesn’t speak strong French, “M’aider” would translate to “help me”; to others who do indeed speak proper French, they would say … um … no. Or perhaps something slightly more eloquent. French speakers listening, please fill in this blank with the appropriate language to use when shaking your head at someone getting your language wrong. I know. It happens.

Apparently, “help me” would be said a bit differently in French. “M’aider” translates as “help me to … ” but technically, it would need a verb to make sense. Like, “help me translate this, please” or “help me to not make a grammar mistake as I’m setting international communications protocol.”

It’s a simple language mistake. “M’aider” doesn’t—or should I say “shouldn’t”—stand alone.

But hey, that’s what I’m here for with the English language. We all have to keep helping each other out with the language cause.

However, does this grammar flaw point to fake news entirely with this French language word origin story with mayday? Oh, for a moment, it seems so. There are so many fake news stories out there. But then I’ll ask another question. What was the background of those who introduced “mayday” to the world?

If it was indeed Frederick Stanley Mockford, he was English. And if it was somebody else, my bet is that they weren’t French but loosely familiar with the French language.

And we can’t end this conversation without a shout-out to S.O.S., which was the primary distress signal used that needed to be replaced. And yes, there were others—that’s a different conversation—but let’s just talk S.O.S. for now.

Why did S.O.S. need to be replaced or supplemented? Well, S.O.S. is often thought to be an acronym for “Save our souls or “save our ship,“ but it was introduced during the Morse Code era, and that telegraphic form holds the answer to its meaning. “S.O.S.” was a collection of short and long dots and dashes than were adapted as a distress signal because the pattern stood out and was easily recognizable ( . . . – – – . . . ). Sadly, I think I learned the pattern in my childhood from a S.O.S. brand steel wool soap pad commercial with dirty dishes in a sink clanging it out, but you probably have a much more academic memory of leaning this than me.

S.O.S. was powerful, easy Morse code for those communicating via telegraph. However, while ships used telegraphs, airplanes did not. As aircraft were put to use more and more, they used radio, and shouting out S.O.S. is not as clear as it could be. S’s were often mistaken for F’s, and in a moment of absolute urgency, do you think anyone would have the state of mind or even the time to clarify?

“No, excuse me, let me repeat. That’s S like Sam. O like Oreo.”

Or to use the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet (IRDS)—think Alpha, Bravo, Charlie—do you want that captain or pilot to shout into the radio, “Sierra. Oscar. Sierra. Sierra Oscar Sierra!”

What?

Actually, let me go back in time more, we’re talking before the standard usage Military Phonetic Alphabet, which wasn’t greatly used until World War 11. Back in 1927, it would not have been Sierra, Oscar, Sierra, but Santiago, Oslo, Santiago, because the early version used city names from across the world.

You see the problem. Nobody needs that confusion shouted over the radio in a moment of distress.

And to come full circle, after the early tests that tried out the new distress signal, the International Radio Telegraph Convention, also in 1927, lists 51 Rules, and the official usage of “mayday” (M-A-Y-D-A-Y) was among them. Clarity. Speed. This is what was needed. And where was this convention held? Washington, D.C. A place not known for its proper French grammar.

So Mayday, from the French m’aider, which isn’t correct French, but they were trying. And trying is good. But it stuck, jumped, and solidified into to English before anyone really could stop it.

Also in 1927, the United States formally adopted “Mayday” as an official radiotelegraph distress signal, explaining in Article 19 of their resolution that “mayday” originates in “the French pronunciation of the expression m’aider.”

Language takes off like that sometimes. And sometimes it goes in the wrong direction. We see it happen. Sigh. Language. It can’t be controlled sometimes. Should we call for an S.O.S.? Nah, but let’s hang on for the ride.

Language Challenge

I’m going to twist our conversation in a different direction. If multiple distress signals were coming in at the same time, maybe the radio operators would have to prioritize and organize the help needed. If all emergencies were equal, would they say: “First come, first serve” or “first come, first served”?

Sure, this is an expression often discussed more in line with restaurants and delis, but it’s something to know either way.

Only one is correct: “First come, first serve” or “First come, first served” (with that d). Do you know?

The answers, as always, can be found on my website, at GetAGripOnYourGrammar.com.

Personal Update:

For my personal update, I know I shared in the last episode the exciting news that my first novel, The Baba Yaga Mask, is coming in April 2022. Yes, my first novel, though it will be my fourth book. But today’s update goes in a slightly different direction.

Amid the pandemic, like all of you, I haven’t been to many big events over the past two years, and thus, a number of my favorite workshops and programs that I love to do with audiences were either put on hold or done virtually. And virtually is great—not quite the same as being with a live audience, but still fun and workable.

But this month and next, I actually have a number of in-person events we’re attempting. Outdoors for some, masked for others, distanced and thoughtful hopefully with all. But live audiences. For my Grammartopia programs, for my Story Stop Tour programs. I am tentatively thrilled and excited. Tentatively. So much tentatively.

I hope you and your words are doing well, everyone. I know we’ve all had enough with feelings of S.O.S. and Mayday. Maybe we should channel The New York Times and their feelings of “exhilaration” around changes. What do you think?

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Words. Language. Communications. We’ve got this.

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