Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PERSONA GRATA & PERSONA NON GRATA

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connect today's word to others: Remember the Duke of Weselton from Disney's Frozen?  He starts off as a persona grata, a welcome foreign visitor to Arendelle. But after revealing himself as greedy, exploitative, and murderous, he becomes a persona non grata in Arendelle: unwelcome, unacceptable, and swiftly kicked out. The "grata" part of those terms is Latin for "acceptable" or "pleasing," so you can see how they're related to words like grace, agree, grateful, gratuity, and congratulations. The terms persona grata and persona non grata originally described diplomats and other foreign visitors, and today they describe any kind of visitors or outsiders. See if you can recall these other lofty-sounding terms for certain types of people: 1. A gr__ em____ce is a person who has a lot of power and influence in a situation, even though that person isn't officially in charge. 2. A r___ av___ is a person who is unusual and remarkable. (This term literally means "rare bird.") (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "PERSONA GRATA" & "PERSONA NON GRATA" Literally an "acceptable person," a persona grata is a person who's welcome in a certain place or situation. And, literally an "unacceptable person," a persona non grata is a person who's NOT welcome in a certain place or situation. Pronunciation: Persona grata: "per SO nuh GROD uh" Persona non grata: "per SO nuh non GROD uh" Part of speech: They're nouns, the countable kind. (Countable nouns, like "bottle," "piece," and "decision," are words for things that can be broken into exact units. You talk about "a bottle," "three pieces," and "many decisions." Likewise, talk about one or more personae gratae or personae non gratae.) Other forms: Just the plurals. There are several ways to pronounce them. Here's what I recommend. For "personae gratae:" "per SO nee GROD ee." And for "personae non gratae:" "per SO nee non GROD ee." How to use it: Latin terms tend to be formal, but you can use "persona grata" and "persona non grata" in both formal and casual speech, since they're familiar to most of us and since their meaning is pretty obvious. (Even if your listeners misinterpret the meanings as "great person" and "not-so-great person," that's pretty close!) Talk about someone being a persona grata (or being a persona non grata) at a place, in a place, to a place, to a person, with a person, in someone's eyes, in someone's view, or among a group of people. Though we often just say someone is a persona grata (or a persona non grata), we can also say that someone becomes a persona grata, makes himself a persona grata, poses as a persona grata, is no longer a persona grata, etc. What kind of people do we refer to as personae gratae (or personae non gratae)? Any kind of visitor or outsider: neighbors, party guests, customers, clients, members of a club, foreign visitors and diplomats, etc. (Or, get figurative and refer to non-human things as personae gratae or personae non gratae: insects, animals, ideas, attitudes, etc.) And, in what kind of places or situations do we find personae gratae (or personae non gratae)? Any kind where people visit or belong: homes, events, restaurants, stores, hotels, neighborhoods, cities, nations, clubs, groups, sports teams, societies, associations, workplaces, companies, academic spheres and so on. Lastly, even though these terms are nouns, sometimes we use them loosely like adjectives: "They're persona grata at this restaurant." examples: The #WelcomeYourNeighbors campaign gently negates the attitude that immigrants are personae non gratae. "I was actually persona grata at the White House for a brief time. I went to an evening of Shakespeare there, and Nixon was in the receiving line."     —Dick Cavett, speaking in an interview edited by Nicholas Haramis, The New York Times Style Magazine, 5 September 2016 study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definitions in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "persona grata" and "persona non grata" mean when you can explain them without saying "welcome or unwelcome guest" or "esteemed or despised person." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) treats (a certain kind of people) as personae non gratae." Example: "This hotel manager treats customers who booked through Priceline as personae non gratae." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. This month, we're playing "Sleek Slogans." I'll take a familiar slogan from a company or a product, express that slogan in plain language, and tell you the specific qualities the slogan has (like rhyme or alliteration), and then you come up with the real slogan as well as the name of the company or product. From the previous issue: Rewrite this slogan using antithesis (the side-by-side placement of contrasting ideas): "Our pizza is just as appealing as a delivered pizza." Answer: That's the slogan for DiGiorno pizza: "It's not delivery. It's DiGiorno." Try this one today: Rewrite this slogan by using concision (the use of as few words as possible) and by reversing a cliché (that is, by swapping around the words in an overused phrase): "When you use our athletic products, you will feel that the things you previously considered too difficult are in fact very easy." review today's word: 1. PERSONA GRATA and PERSONA NON GRATA are exact opposites. But, a close opposite of PERSONA GRATA could be A. NUISANCE. B. EAVESDROPPER. C. UNDERHANDEDNESS. 2. By _____, she rendered herself a persona non grata. A. respectfully removing her shoes at the front door B. attending to the conversation without participating in it C. criticizing the host's food, furniture, and parenting skills Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. A 2. C