Category: linguistics

  • Oxford/Tumblr

    By coincidence, the Oxford Dictionaries blog just added a post about Tumblr English. It’s useful if you’ve just gotten started and feel confused by the jargon. I take issue with one premise of the post: Before you start your own blog, review some important features you need to know I believe that most people learn…

  • Babel

    Check out the promising new magazine, Babel, written by linguists for non-specialists. I’ve read a bit of the first issue and I thought it was at a fairly nice level–new ideas if you haven’t had any linguistics classes at all; not too challenging if you have, but still plenty of interest. There are some great…

  • Post-Holiday Link Roundup

    I wasn’t able to post here during the holidays, but I was somewhat active on Twitter. Here are a few links that I shared that may be of interest to you, rewritten a bit for context and easier clicking. This is part of how I use Wikipedia (and part of why the kneejerk brainwashing of…

  • Words about Words

    “Euphemism” is a pretty big word, but it’s so useful that it’s part of a set of words I generally wind up teaching to my students if they’re at least intermediate level. These “words about words” belong to a vocabulary set that’s above or outside of the level of the other words they know. However,…

  • Quote of the Day

    Non-British English-speakers, I have a weapon for you: Language … cannot become bastardized in any country where intelligence is active and where there is no obstacle to progress. It will change, yes, and by changing, it will simply follow the current formed by the passing of time, which is revolutionary and irresistible.” This was quoted…

  • Temporary Free Journal Access

    I received this message on the AAAL mailing list, and as it says “free free to forward to colleagues,” I believe it should be okay to post it here. (If not, I’ll be happy to take it down.) Here’s the message: “Get acquainted with SAGE’s journals in Languages and Linguistics now during our free online…

  • Simpsons Linguistics

    Sometimes a single-link post is worth it: Over at HeiDeas, “Beyond beyond beyond beyond ‘Beyond embiggens and cromulent’” is Heidi Harley’s fifth annual collection of linguistics jokes culled from The Simpsons, TV’s richest trove of wordplay and jokes about language! (well, other than QI, I suppose, and more prolific anyway.) The best part of these…

  • 2009 Linguistic Institute

    If you are or could be in the San Francisco Bay Area this summer, check out the 2009 Linguistic Institute. It’s going to be hosted at UC Berkeley and sounds really amazing. Geoffrey K. Pullum will be giving a 3-week course on English grammar, and there are all kinds of fascinating courses on language contact,…

  • Delightful Lexicography

    I think a lot of people have already seen this video from last year, but if you haven’t, it’s well worth it! Erin McKean is a lexicographer who gives an entertaining and surprisingly funny overview of the descriptivist (as opposed to prescriptivist) approach to dictionaries and lexicography. It’s made for non-linguists, so it’s a good…