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

languagehat.com » Lenin’s Rathmines Accent.

Sunday 9 November 22:49:11 UTC 2014

An odd bit of historico-biographico-linguistic trivia, reported by Sam at Come here to me! (Dublin life & culture): Vladimir Lenin, the Russian revolutionary, spoke with a Dublin accent. Well, according to Roddy Connolly, son of James, who said in a 1976 Irish Times feature that Lenin, more specifically, had a “Rathmines accent”. This was due to the fact apparently that … [Link]

languagehat.com » Manzikert.

Sunday 9 November 14:22:04 UTC 2014

Adam at hmmlorientalia reminds me that I’ve always loved the exotic-sounding Manzikert, now more usually known as Malazgirt (though Adam uses the Armenian form Manazkert), famous for the Battle of Manzikert of 1071, which while not directly responsible for the destruction of Byzantine authority in Anatolia and the subsequent Turkification certainly opened the door for it. Wikipedia says: The suffix … [Link]

Language Log » Ask Language Log: (Un) Leavened

Sunday 9 November 14:08:42 UTC 2014

A.M. writes: A novel contained the following sentence: "The tension between them had grown since the first meal, unleavened by the blond boy's arrogance." I am not sure what the blond boy's arrogance did to the tension – furthered it, dampened it, had no influence? So i put leavened/unleavened in a more general context (supported by Google searches, the results … [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » Party Boobs

Sunday 9 November 9:00:00 UTC 2014

When a woman has her breasts surgically augmented and proceeds to display them in low cut tops, tight tops and without a bra as much as possible for every occasion. Sue: "Oh no, do you see how low cut that top is? She is leaving nothing to the imagination!" Jane: "Oh girl! She's got her party boobs out!" … [Link]