John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons

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Language Stuff

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

the world in words » How dialects from Trinidad to Hawaii are expanding the limits of English

Thursday 23 October 22:42:46 UTC 2014

Here’s a post from Nina Porzucki. There are probably as many terms for different kinds of English vernacular as there are vernaculars themselves: pidgin, patois, slang, creole dialect and so on. But while we usually think of the vernaculars as oral versions of the English language, they’re making their way into the written word as well. “There’s a really interesting … [Link]

Language Log » Zuckerberg's Mandarin

Thursday 23 October 16:25:42 UTC 2014

The world is abuzz: "Zuckerberg Wows Beijing Audience With Fluent Mandarin", PCMag (10/22/14). Also on Facebook (of course), and many other sites, including this AP article that called Zuckerberg's pronunciation "far from fluent." See and hear for yourself: (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/~ fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, … [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » Texecution

Thursday 23 October 7:00:00 UTC 2014

Death Penalty given by the state of Texas. George Bush was Governor of Texas for 152 Texecutions. [Link]

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