John Gordon Ross

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 » Is Hello Kitty not a cat?

Saturday 30 August 22:56:37 UTC 2014

There's been a to-do over whether Hello Kitty is a cat or a human, a massive uproar of tweets and retweets: "Hello Kitty is not a cat, plus more reveals before her L.A. tour" (LA Times, 8/26/14, where the story first broke) "Newsflash: Hello Kitty has never been a cat" (Washington Post, 8/28/14) "Hello Kitty fans tweet shock after hearing … [Link]

Language Log » Too close for comfort

Saturday 30 August 15:22:33 UTC 2014

Today's Zits: [Link]

Language Log » Abduweli Ayup

Saturday 30 August 12:22:49 UTC 2014

"Uyghur linguist sentenced to 18-month prison term in China", LSA News 8/28/2014: The LSA has learned from news reports published this week that Abduweli Ayup has been ordered to pay a large fine and continue his detention in a Chinese prison for the next six months. The LSA had sent a letter earlier this year to government officials in China … [Link]

World Wide Words: Updates » New online: Footloose and fancy free

Saturday 30 August 8:00:00 UTC 2014

Despite claims, 'footloose and fancy free' has nothing to do with chain gangs. [Link]

World Wide Words: Updates » New online: Raparee

Saturday 30 August 8:00:00 UTC 2014

A 'raparee' was an Irish irregular soldier and robber. [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » abeerance

Saturday 30 August 7:30:00 UTC 2014

The act of showing up somewhere because you feel obligated… but only for one beer because you don't want to stay too long. "Ugh… holiday party. Guess I have to go make an abeerance" [Link]

languagehat.com » Firgun.

Saturday 30 August 0:15:22 UTC 2014

Haaretz has a “Word of the Day” feature, and Shoshana Kordova writes about “Firgun: The art of tooting someone else’s horn”: You tell your friend how much she deserves the prize she just won – and you really mean it. Or perhaps your coworker comes up with such a great idea that you can’t stop going on about how much … [Link]

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