Almost everyone uses language, so inevitably almost everyone thinks they are an expert in it. I don’t consider myself an expert, though most of my work requires at least language competence and sometimes actual skill, and I’m certainly not a linguist, but I do look at the blogs featured on this feeds page (too often if the truth be told).
(If you are wondering where the translation-related feeds have all gone, I have put them on their own page.)
Most of the blogs represented here are in English, most of the time, but don’t be surprised to find other languages used. Go with the flow – I occasionally find myself pleasantly surprised at how much I can grasp in languages I have never seen before.
Language On the Net
You Don't Say » No difference
When the language develops useful distinctions of meaning, Henry Fowler thought, scrupulous writers strive to maintain those distinctions. Thus it still makes sense to insist that imply and infer are not interchangeable and that cement and concrete are not quite the same thing. But a good deal of advice about language attends to distinctions that are so minuscule as to … [Link]
Words at Work » Maybe the Plan Doesn't Stink
David Sullivan takes a sober, thoughtful look at Gannett's plan to create designer hubs for its newspapers.
languagehat.com » A MISSING BOOK.
Felipe Martinez, an independent researcher from San Diego, California, is "investigating the absence of Brazilian author João Guimarães Rosa (1908-1967) in the English-speaking world." To this end he has set up a website called "A Missing Book," where he invites "any and all inquiries, submissions of articles, essays, translations, etc. concerning João Guimarães Rosa." The first response links to this … [Link]
Language Log » The Linguists receives an Emmy® nomination
The documentary film The Linguists has just received an Emmy® nomination for "Outstanding Science and Technology Programming". The press release can be found ; for those of you who would like a downloadable keepsake, the relevant nomination can be found on p. 25 of the PDF and Word versions of the press release. In related (and even more awesome) news, the … [Link]
Language Log » Capping off the spill with a crash blossom
While we're on the subject of grammatically ambiguous oil spill headlines, Larry Horn sends along a nice crash blossom (via the American Dialect Society mailing list). This morning's USA Today contains the headline: BP caps ruptured well, but more hurdles remain Larry writes: My first thought was that I had watched the news last night and I don't remember seeing … [Link]
Talk Wordy to Me » Copy Editors Do It With Style | New mugs and T-shirts to support ACES
In April, I started selling mugs and T-shirts with the Talk Wordy to Me logo to raise money for the American Copy Editors Society Education Fund. I have made $55 from them so far. Now I am debuting a new design, one that should be of broader interest to copy editors: 
My friend Lindsay Hack, a page designer at The … [Link]
Wordorigins.org » Couple of Articles on Prescriptivism
John McIntyre, copy editor for the Baltimore Sun, has a post on his You Don’t Say blog outlining a very sensible approach to prescriptivism. McIntyre “gets it.” Very few people who dispense writing advice realize or acknowledge that different registers and voices are appropriate for different audiences, and the “rules” of style need to be adjusted accordingly. And the Johnson … [Link]
Wordorigins.org » I Write Like
This is a fun, but ultimately pointless, site. I purports to tell you which famous writer you write like. I evidently write like H.P. Lovecraft. Although one of my posts from 2001 is like Shakespeare. I write likeH. P. LovecraftI Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing! Oddly enough, Shakespeare’s Sonnet #116 is written in the style … [Link]
Language Log » Sea turtles rescued from Gulf spill released
A most perfect … [Link]
Language Log » Par none
An eggcorn that hasn't yet been catalogued: "par none" for "bar none". I've mislaid the link where I first saw this, but there are plenty of examples on the web, from the realtor who advertises herself as providing "Service par none" to the hotel review titled "Excellence par none". The original expression "bar none" involves the use of bar as … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » double rainbow
intense joy, coupled with extreme emotional shifts; an experience equal to an orgasm OMG, it's a full on complete double rainbow all the way across the sky!
[Link]
Archive
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2 responses so far ↓
1 The End of Civilization As We Know It // Feb 1, 2009 at %I:%M %p
[...] it is declaredly prescriptivist, and the descriptivists might otherwise be over-represented on the Language Stuff [...]
2 Bare-bones HTML or CMS? // Mar 18, 2009 at %I:%M %p
[...] Language Stuff [...]
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