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
Language Log » Homophonophobia
Most people seem to call it "homophonia" (25,000 ghits), but I'm not even sure what that means: "Homophonia" (7/31/14). Following this cartoon in Magic Coffee Hair (8/16/12) and Gretchen McCulloch's article, "What's the Difference Between Homophonia, Homophobia, and Homophonophobia?" (8/1/14) in Lexicon Valley, I'll go with homophonophobia (4,310 ghits), despite the fact that it is a forbidding mouthful, as being … [Link]
Language Log » Vocal creak and fry, exemplified
There are several different sorts of things involved on the perceptual side of the phenomena that people call "vocal fry" and (less often but more appropriately) "vocal creak". One perceptual issue is the auditory equivalent of the visual "flicker fusion threshold". If regular impulse-like oscillations in air pressure are fast enough, we hear them as a tone; as they get … [Link]
languagehat.com » Abba Is Not Daddy.
Back in 2006, frequent commenter Paul sent me an obit for biblical scholar James Barr which made him sound quite interesting; I meant to follow up but never did, and now Henry Wansbrough’s TLS review of Bible and Interpretation: The Collected Essays of James Barr, Volumes I-III has the same effect. His first book, The Semantics of Biblical Language (Oxford: … [Link]
Wordorigins.org » Grammatical Superpendantry
An excellent refutation of an all-too-common problem. [Tip o’ the Hat to Languagehat] [Discuss this post] [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » Pho Queue
(n.) fuh-kyoo The line, or queue, formed outside of a Vietnamese restaurant in anticipation of its noodle soup, also known as pho Man #1: Dude, I am not going to stand in this pho queue ! Man #2: Fuck you ! Man #1: No. Dude, I said pho queue…
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Language Log » Language diversity
Yesterday, Walt Wolfram gave a talk here under the title "On the Sociolinguistic Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: Implications for Linguistic Equality". I was especially interested to learn what they're doing to educate students, faculty, and staff about Language Diversity at NC State: This reminded me in turn of one of Suzette Haden Elgin's comments on a a … [Link]
languagehat.com » Some Links.
Since the last linkfest was so overwhelmingly popular, here are some more random items! 1) Note on the Word “Scriptorium” in Coptic Sources, at Alin Suciu.com: did Coptic have a word or formula to designate the place within the monastery where the manuscripts were copied by the scribes? It’s unclear, mais ça vaut le détour! 2) Maria writes about Pet … [Link]
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