John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons

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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 » OMG! American English.

Saturday 9 May 23:59:02 UTC 2015

Victor Mair has a post at the Log on a remarkable American woman in China; it begins: “The star of this popular Voice of America program is Jessica Beinecke (Bái Jié 白洁). Her Mandarin is quite amazing; indeed, I would say that it is nothing short of phenomenal.” Having listened to a fair amount of Mandarin from English-speakers (including myself, … [Link]

Language Log » Forbidden Lawn

Saturday 9 May 20:06:49 UTC 2015

This afternoon at the Jardin du Luxembourg, which is around the corner from where I'm living for the next couple of months: The sign in the center right of the picture reads: It's interesting that the English and Spanish versions spell out precisely what you are authorized to do — though it's clear that lying down, walking, playing ball, etc., … [Link]

Language Log » Totes

Saturday 9 May 18:44:18 UTC 2015

Back in March, Lauren Spradlin gave a wonderful talk at PLC 39, under the title "OMG the Word-Final Alveopalatals are Cray-Cray Prev: A Morphophonological Account of Totes Constructions in English". It's been on my to-blog list ever since. Totes, of course, is a clipped form of totally, which can be found is exchanges like this one: A: Yo, I'm totes … [Link]

Language Log » Verbatim

Saturday 9 May 9:21:22 UTC 2015

Chainsawsuit from 2/20/2015: [h/t Matt Treyvaud] In fact, it's absolutely amazing that people can learn as many words as they do, with as few major differences in usage as they in fact accrue. [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » Find your silence

Saturday 9 May 7:00:00 UTC 2015

A request that somebody be quiet, stop talking, etc. You're driving me nuts. I am going to need you to find your silence. [Link]

Language Log » Smoking cessation

Saturday 9 May 1:43:50 UTC 2015

Joseph Williams sent in the following photograph of a Japanglish sign that he took on a ferry traveling to the famous Itsukushima Shrine (also called Miyajima) in Hiroshima: We'll go through the four languages on the sign, one after another. Japanese kin'en 禁煙 is a standard term for "no smoking; smoking prohibited" Confusion may arise due to the fact that … [Link]

languagehat.com » Ann Kjellberg on Brodsky’s Self-Translations.

Saturday 9 May 0:28:06 UTC 2015

It is a fact universally acknowledged, that Joseph Brodsky’s poetry in English, including his self-translations and the results of his browbeating others who tried to translate his poems under his supervision, is not that good. Understandably, Ann Kjellberg, his literary executor and the editor of his Collected Poems in English , disagrees, and she goes into her reasons in this essay … [Link]

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