AA:I'mAviArdittiwithRosanneSkirble, andthisweekonWORDMASTER: We'rebackwiththeauthorofthenewbook"OK: TheImprobableStoryofAmerica'sGreatestWord."

RS:Lastweek, AllanMetcalfexplainedhowOKbeganasajokeonMarch23, 1839. ThatwasthedayaBostonnewspaperfirstuseditasahumorous, misspelledabbreviationfor"allcorrect." OtherfactorslaterhelpedpropelOKintowideruse.

AA:ButnoteveryonethoughtOKwasOK, saysAllanMetcalf.

ALLANMETCALF:"Throughouttherestofthenineteenthcentury, itwaswell-known, buttherewereplaceswhereitwasnotused. Andoneofthemwasbywritersoffiction. AllthegoodwritersseemedtoavoidOK, likeMarkTwain, whocertainlyusedslang, andBrettHart. BothofthemcouldeasilyhaveusedOK. Theymusthaveknownit. Buttheyavoidedit."

AA:"Whatdidtheyuseinitsplace?"

ALLANMETCALF:"Justsomethinglike'allright'or'thatwilldo'orwhateverelse. Andthenthere'saveryinterestingcase. LouisaMayAlcottwroteabookcalled'LittleWomen'abouttwentyyearsafterOKwasinvented. And, init, there'soneOKinaletterfromoneofthegirlstohersisters.

"Andthenthatwasrevisedforasecondedition, andOKwasremovedand'cozy'wasputininstead. Soeverythingis'cozy'insteadofeverythingis'OK.'SotheremusthavebeensomesensethatOKwastoosillyatermtouseeveninfiction."

RS:"HowdoesOKinourvocabularyrepresentwhoweareasAmericans?"

ALLANMETCALF:"Onewaythatitrepresentswhoweareisthatitrepresentsthepragmaticsenseofgettingitdone. Maybenotgettingitdoneperfectly, butit'sOK. Buttheotherwaybeganwithabookpublishedin1967 byaguynamedThomasHarris. Thebookiscalled'I'mOK-- You'reOK.'Andthebookhappenstobeaboutakindofpsychologyknownastransactionalanalysis.

"Nowmostofushaveeitherforgottenorneverheardabouttransactionalanalysis. Butthatbrilliantstatement, 'I'mOK-- You'reOK,'whichhappensalsotobetheonlyfamousquotationeverinvolvingOK, isonethathasseepedintoourAmericanconsciousness.

"AndIthinknowadaysweasapeoplearemuchmoretolerantthanweusedtobe, partlybecause'I'mOK'-- thatmeansIcandowhatIwant. 'You'reOK'-- youcandowhatyouwant. Maybewearen'tdoingthesamething, butthat'sOK."

RS:"AndspeakingofOK, doyouthinkOKalsohasnotonlyapastlongevity, butafuture?"

ALLANMETCALF:"It'shardtoimagineaworldwithoutOK, andImeannotjustAmericawithoutOKbutanyotherpartoftheworld. I'vereceivedafewanecdotesaboutOKoncemybookwaspublished. ItwasusedinPolish. That'soneanecdote. AnotherinFrench.

"I'dbeverypleasedifyourlistenerswouldsendmeanystoriesabouthowOKisusedintheircountries. I'mthinkingofasequelcalled'OKAroundtheWorld.'"

RS:"We'lltrytohelpyouonthat."

AA:"Speakingoftheseotherlanguages, youmentionthattherearesimilartermsinotherlanguages. DidanyofthosecomebeforeOK, orhavetheyallemergedsincethen?"

ALLANMETCALF:"TheGreeklanguagehasanexpressionsomethinglike'ollakalla'whichmeans'allgood,'whichhasbeenaroundinGreekforacoupleofthousandyears. AndsowhenOKwasimported-exportedtoGreece, theGreeksthought'Oh, that'sanabbreviationofoneofourexpressions.'Butthere'sabsolutelynoconnectionleadingfromGreecetotheAmericanBostonin1839."

AA:"Andtherearesomanywaysit'swritten: O.K., OKwithoutperiods, o-k-a-y. Isthereoneyouprefer?"

ALLANMETCALF:"Well, formybook, sinceIwantedtoemphasizeOK, IusedcapitalO, capitalKwithoutperiods. Butthoseotherspellingsthatyoumentionarealsolegitimate. TheoriginalOKwas'o.k.'Andifyouwanttomakeitlookmorelikeanordinaryword, youspellit'okay.'"

RS:AllanMetcalfistheauthorof"OK: TheImprobableStoryofAmerica'sGreatestWord."

AA:LetusknowifyouuseOKinyourlanguage.

RS:OK?

AA:Gotovoanews.com/wordmaster, clickontheContactUslinkandtellusyourstory. We'llforwardittoAllanMetcalf.

RS:That'sWORDMASTERforthisweek. WithAviArditti, I’mRosanneSkirble.