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, but I do follow the blogs featured on this feeds page.
(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
Language Log » Mutual appreciation
Today's Zits: 
Mutual knowledge – at least the kind of mutual knowledge involved in theories of convention, theories of reference, and so on – is generally taken to require the logical equivalent of an infinite conceptual recursion. Thus Herbert Clark and Catherine Marshall ("Definite Reference and Mutual Knowledge") spend several pages exploring a hypothetical situation where Ann uses the phrase … [Link]
languagehat.com » A Silly Man, Though Lewd.
James Harbeck, “a professional word taster and sentence sommelier (an editor trained in linguistics),” has some fun with the etymological fallacy, “the idea that the true meaning of a word is whatever it ‘originally’ meant,” creating a story that uses words with their “true” meanings: Our local lord – I mean the baker, of course – is a silly man, … [Link]
World Wide Words: Updates » New online: Vigorish
The US term 'vigorish' means interest or the commission on a bet. [Link]
World Wide Words: Updates » New online: Animadvert
A rare and pompous-sounding word, 'animadvert', means to disapprove or disparage. [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » mom look
The look you get when your boyfriend/girlfriend introduces you to their mom and you see the look of disapproval in her eyes. I think my mom really likes you…..Uhhh.no she totally gave me the mom look….i feel so ashamed.
[Link]
Language Log » Stray Chinese characters in English language documents
Lawrence Evalyn wrote to me saying that he received the official communication below about a new student card that is being issued by his university. He was perplexed by all the Chinese characters that got inserted in the text. They seem to appear consistently in certain places and for certain letters. [N.B.: The communication has been anonymized for posting on … [Link]
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