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 » Happy languages
I heard some people talking today in what I think was Nigerian English, which always sounds happy to me. These particularly people seemed to be very cheerful, but there seems to be something about Nigerian English that makes it sound very jolly, to my ears at least. I think it’s something about the sounds they use and the intonation patterns. … [Link]
Language Log » "Imitation Game" codebreakers also played the palindrome game
Doc, note: I dissent. A fast never prevents a fatness. I diet on cod. Is this the best palindrome ever created in English? Many think so. (I agree.) But did you know that it was made by the British mathematician Peter Hilton, while working alongside Alan Turing as an "Enigma" codebreaker during World War II? If you've seen The Imitation … [Link]
languagehat.com » Mumbling as Data Compression.
Julie Sedivy has an interesting post at Nautilus: Far from being a symptom of linguistic indifference or moral decay, dropping or reducing sounds displays an underlying logic similar to the data-compression schemes that are used to create MP3s and JPEGs. These algorithms trim down the space needed to digitally store sounds and images by throwing out information that is redundant … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » Fuckboi
A guy who tries to get with everyone. A player. A guy who will lie to a girl to make them hook up with them or send pics. They think they are the shit when they aren't. A guy who will only date a girl for their body. A total ass. A guy that will make a girl cry and … [Link]
Language Log » SOCAL is getting fleeked out
[Guest post by Taylor Jones] For anyone who's been living under a rock for the past few months, there is a term, "on fleek," that has been around since at least 2003, but which caught like wildfire on social media after June 21, 2014, when Vine user Peaches Monroe made a video declaring her eyebrows "on fleek." Since then, the … [Link]
Language Log » Query: Punctuation in personal digital media
From Jessica Bennett: Friends! I'm doing a piece for the NYT about the ways punctuation has changed — and taken new weight — in the texting era. For example: I've started putting a space before an exclamation point in text messages, ie, "Can't wait !" Didn't immediately realize this but upon further reflection decided this is because a straight exclamation … [Link]
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