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
Omniglot blog » Un sabot de Denver
I discovered yesterday that in French a wheel clamp is known as a sabot de Denver (“Denver hoof/clog/shoe/boot”), and wondered what Denver has to do with wheel clamps. On Wikipedia is explains that such devices were first used in Denver, Colorado, and are known as a wheel boot, parking boot or Denver boot in the USA. The wheel boot was … [Link]
Language Log » Hundreds die in a sandwich press
Just as some folks have a special knack for being able to unravel "The latest word soup from the Bloomberg headline crew", I'm usually able to make sense out of Chinglish that is inscrutable to most readers. Here's a humdinger sent in by Matt Trevyaud: Using method: Ready to slice sandwiches and stuffed, in the middle of two sandwiches into … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » Thigh Gap
A gap between a girls thighs accomplished by being 95 pounds and 2% body fat which, contrary to a teenage girl's belief, is not sexy. I feel sorry for these girls who try to get the near impossible thigh gap by eating two pieces of celery for every meal.
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Language Log » Linguists get tough on promoting language change
The latest xkcd, at http://xkcd.com/1483/: 
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languagehat.com » Tone and Humidity.
A startling theory (description from the FAQ): Everett, Blasi & Roberts (2015) review literature on how inhaling dry air affects phonation, suggesting that lexical tone is harder to produce and perceive in dry environments. This leads to a prediction that languages should adapt to this pressure, so that lexical tone should not be found in dry climates, and the paper … [Link]
Language Log » Sarah Koenig
Following up on our recent Vocal Fry discussion ("Freedom Fries"; "You want fries with that?"), Brett Reynolds wrote to suggest that "Sarah Koenig's vocal fry seems to be something new". As evidence, he suggested a contrast between a piece she did in 2000 ("Deal Of A Lifetime", This American Life #162, 6/23/2000) and one from 2014 ("The Alibi: Prologue", This … [Link]
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