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 » Water control
The exoticization of Chinese, yet again This time it's the alleged, essential aqueousness of governance: "The Water Book by Alok Jha review – this remarkable substance", by Rose George (5/14/15). The first sentence: "The Chinese symbol for 'political order' is made from the characters for river and dyke." What a lame, wrongheaded way to begin a serious article! This statement … [Link]
Language Log » Eggcorn makes it into Merriam-Webster
And NPR commemorates the event: Mark Memmott, "'Eggcorns': The Gaffes That Spread Like Wildflowers", Weekend Edition 5/30/2015. Here's the LLOG post where the term was first suggested: "Egg corns: Folk Etymology, Malapropism, Mondegreen, ???", 9/23/2003. There are quite a few eggcorn-related posts in LLOG Classic and New LLOG as well. And anyone interested in the topic should check out Chris … [Link]
languagehat.com » The Scythe, the Swath, and the Hired Men.
Alexander Anichkin (aka Sashura) at Tetradki has a wonderful post comparing three versions of a passage from Anna Karenina, giving the Russian followed by translations by Constance Garnett, Pevear/Volokhonsky, and Nathan Haskell Dole. I agree with Sashura that the Garnett is the best, which pleases me; I’m always defending Connie against the rote attacks leveled by people who believe the … [Link]
World Wide Words: Updates » New online: Adimpleate
'Adimpleate' reappears after two centuries of disuse. [Link]
World Wide Words: Updates » New online: Deodand
When inanimate objects could be blamed for deaths, 'deodands' were invoked. [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » Tweet It
If someone says 'Tweet It' after another person has said a sentence then they must simply tweet the sentence they just said. James Wells 'I suck cock' Adam davies 'Tweet it'. James would then have to tweet that he sucks cock
[Link]
Language Log » The BDLPSWDKS Effect
Today's xkcd: 
Definition of a liberal education: What you need to learn in order to get this joke. To wit: the Bernoulli effect; the Doppler effect; the Leidenfrost effect; the Pelzman effect; the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis; the Dunning-Kruger effect; the Stroop effect. Seems like the Coriolis effect, the Meissner effect, the Flynn effect, and the Hawthorne effect could be worked in … [Link]
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