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 » McDonald's Minionese: WTF?
As a tie-in with Minions the movie, McDonald's is giving out a dozen different Minions toys with Happy Meals. Like the Minions in the movie, the toys speak the invented language "Minionese" — though you have to bump or hit the toys to get them to respond. The response to this marketing initiative has been dominated by the fact that … [Link]
Omniglot blog » Language quiz
Here’s a recording in a mystery language. Can you identify the language, and do you know where it’s spoken? [Link]
Language Log » Bad newspaper prose (yes, with passives)
Those who want a clear example of truly dreadful prose, dreadful in large part because of the use of the much-loathed agentless passive, should look at examples like this, from the UK Daily Mail website on Sunday, July 12: The medical director of NHS England has disclosed that up to one in seven hospital procedures are unnecessary, it has been … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » I'm Batman syndrome
When Batman fans try to rationalize that Batman would beat any other super hero because he is Batman and nothing more, when realistically any other super hero would strangle Batman with his own asshole. "Batman would totally beat super man cause he would like totally have a back up plan, even with his powers." obviously suffers from "I'm Batman syndrome" … [Link]
languagehat.com » The Art of the Paragraph.
A nice little piece by Elisa Gabbert for The Smart Set about paragraphs; I like it because it pushes back against the terminally boring essay style they teach you in school (“first I’ll tell you what I’m going to say, then I’ll say it, then I’ll tell you what I said”) and it has some tasty examples: What most people … [Link]
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