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 » Eat your words
Where do the words “ketchup,” “toast” and “salad” come from? [Photos: Steven Depolo (l), Adam Singer (c), stacya (r)/Flickr Creative Commons] Read this post from Alex Gallafent. Or listen to the podcast above. I didn’t think too much about what food I stuffed into my mouth when I was a kid, so long as there was lots of it. No longer. … [Link]
the world in words » Do we still need professional translators to subtitle foreign language movies?
Photo: froussecarton/Creative Commons Read this post from Nina Porzucki. Or listen to the podcast above. In the beginning there was light, a little music and subtitles, technically called intertitles. I’m talking the beginning of the 20th century, during the silent era of moviemaking, when an image really spoke a thousand words and intertitles were used sparingly to explain action, and dialogue, … [Link]
the world in words » The spread of mondegreens should have ended with the Internet — but it hasn’t
Was Jimi Hendrix kissing ‘the sky’ or ‘this guy’? Read this post from Alina Simone. Or listen to the podcast above. You may not know what “mondegreen” means, but you definitely have a great mondegreen story — like maybe mishearing the chorus for the Cuban song “Guantanamera” as “One ton tomato. I ate a one ton tomato.” The word mondegreen was … [Link]
the world in words » Remembrance of the Man who Translated Proust
Photo: louveciennes/Flickr Creative Commons Read this post from Nina Porzucki. Or listen to the podcast above. It’s not often that a translator has a story as good as the author himself. But C.K. Scott Moncrieff’s was wild enough to seem like fiction. Moncrieff was the first person to translate Marcel Proust’s seven-volume epic, “Remembrance of Things Past” into English. He was … [Link]
the world in words » How the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have shaped military slang
A jinglytruck (British English)/jingle truck (American English) in Afghanistan. (Photo: Kurt Clark via Flickr) Here’s a post from The Big Show’s Leo Hornak. How do you feel about doing armourbarma on the way to Butlins? Or getting a craphat to check for Terry in a jinglytruck? Unless you’re a member of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces, you’re probably totally confused. The British … [Link]
the world in words » A Soviet-era storytelling game trains you to bluff, lie and sometimes tell the truth
A tense moment during a game of “Mafia” in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo courtesy of the English Mafia Club of Kiev) Read this post from Alina Simone. Or listen to the podcast above. The storytelling parlor game “Mafia” crosses borders, transcends culture and bridges the language divide in ways you’d never expect. There are no game boards or joysticks involved in Mafia … [Link]
languagehat.com » Russia’s Open Book.
I usually prefer to get my information in written form, but the PBS documentary Russia’s Open Book: Writing in the Age of Putin (website) is so good I was sorry when its 57 minutes were over. The host is Stephen Fry (sporting a pleasing late-tsarist beard-and-mustache combination), and the authors discussed and interviewed include Zakhar Prilepin, Dmitry Bykov, Mariam Petrosyan, … [Link]
Language Log » Lots of planets have a Middlesbrough
A week ago, Bob Ladd pointed us to a Guardian story about British sociolinguistic prejudice ("Viewer offered BBC’s Steph McGovern £20 to 'correct' her northern accent", 11/25/2014). Steph McGovern is from Middlesbrough, and back in February of 2013 ITV News had one of its posher presenters trying to fix up Middlesbrough resident's pronunciation in real time: Here's a BBC News … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » i feel your nuts
i know what you mean Boy 1: Yeah man, I can't stand that guy. Boy 2: I feel your nuts on that one.
[Link]
Language Log » Past, present, and future
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about the future: "Mirai". The ensuing discussion was quite animated, touching upon the nuances and implications of words for the future in many different languages. I concluded by saying that I would write a separate post about past, present, and future: here it is. The first thing I feel compelled to … [Link]
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