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

languagehat.com » Maroon.

Sunday 30 November 19:33:08 UTC 2014

My wife and I are continuing to read Ford Madox Ford’s Parade’s End (see this post), and in the first chapter of the third novel, A Man Could Stand Up—, I ran across a word unfamiliar to me in this sense: But of course that had been ten minutes ago…Before the maroons or the sirens, whichever it had been, had … [Link]

Language Log » No-excuses split infinitive in The Economist

Sunday 30 November 16:42:17 UTC 2014

I have grumbled on several previous occasions about the Economist's stubborn adherence to a brainless policy that its editors maintain: no adjuncts are to be located between the to and the verb in an infinitival clause, lest readers should get annoyed. That is, the magazine's style guide insists that the "split infinitive" construction should be avoided even though it is … [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » K dot

Sunday 30 November 9:00:00 UTC 2014

Written as "K." Used in conversation as another way to say {Cool story bro} or express how you don't give a flying fuck about what was just said. "Did you hear about Kanye West's latest album, She's not a hobbit?" "K dot" [Link]

Omniglot blog » Language quiz

Sunday 30 November 5:00:46 UTC 2014

Here’s a recording in a mystery language. Can you identify the language, and do you know where it’s spoken? FacebookTwitter Google+Share [Link]

Language Log » Ko P

Sunday 30 November 3:35:33 UTC 2014

Just in case you hadn't seen this in the news, the winner of the Taipei mayoral election held on November 28, 2014 is Ko Wen-je (Kē Wénzhé 柯文哲), a trauma surgeon who ran as an independent. "Pro-independence party candidate Ko Wen-je claims victory in Taipei mayor race" The Straits Times (11/29/14) Ko has the orthographically interesting nickname of 柯P (also … [Link]

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