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 » Pagan.

Sunday 1 March 21:34:43 UTC 2015

I’m continuing to read Peter Brown’s Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350–550 AD and in his discussion of Symmachus he has one of those brief and enlightening explications of a word that I can’t resist sharing (pp. 101-2): There was, however, one fissure that had begun … [Link]

Language Log » Fake account spotting on Facebook

Sunday 1 March 18:55:10 UTC 2015

One language-related story in the British press over the weekend was that Gavin McGowan was threatened by Facebook with having his account shut down… because they said his name was fake. About ten years ago Gavin learned some Scottish Gaelic and started using the Gaelic spelling of his name: Gabhan Mac A Ghobhainn. Facebook is apparently running software designed to … [Link]

Language Log » Duang

Sunday 1 March 16:41:22 UTC 2015

In China (and around the world among China watchers), everybody's talking about this ungainly syllable. "Duang" surfaced less than a week ago, but already it has been used millions and millions of times. "The Word That Broke the Chinese Internet" (2/27/15) by Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian "'Duang' is Everywhere on the Chinese Internets, Here’s What It Means" (2/27/15) by Charles Liu "Chinese … [Link]