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 » Pinyin without Chinese characters
Occasionally one encounters pinyin with no hanzi (Chinese characters); see at the bottom of this photograph taken by Randy Alexander at a small mall right across from the main entrance to Xiamen (Amoy) University: 
It looks like a strange contraption, but the picture on the side tells us that it has something to do with umbrellas, and the three Chinese … [Link]
languagehat.com » Bibliophilia.
I like books and I like movies, so it makes sense that I would like a short movie about books in movies, and I thought maybe you would too. I herewith preset Bibliophilia – Books in the Films of Wes Anderson: A video-essay by Luís Azevedo, a five-minute video accompanied by a brief essay explaining what Azevedo was going for. … [Link]
Language Log » Failing words in Myanmar
Thomas Fuller, "Those Who Would Remake Myanmar Find That Words Fail Them", NYT 7/19/2015: It’s the dawn of democracy in Myanmar. If only the Burmese had their own word for it. As this former dictatorship opens to the world, language is a stumbling block. For half a century, Myanmar was so cut off from the outside world that people were … [Link]
Language Log » A decision entirely
Urgent bipartite action alert for The Economist: First, note that my copy of the July 18 issue did not arrive on my doormat as it should have done on Saturday morning, so I did not have my favorite magazine to read over the weekend; please investigate. And second, the guerilla actions of the person on your staff who enforces the … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » on who
To swear on a person you hold in high regard. Usually a deceased friend or relative. Friend 1: "I already fucked Bob" Friend 2: "You wellin, On who??"
[Link]
languagehat.com » Saving N|uu.
David Smith has a story in the Guardian about an effort to save a dying language: Hanna Koper and her two sisters are thought to be the last remaining speakers of the San language N|uu, rated as critically endangered by Unesco. The San, also known as “bushmen”, were the first hunter-gatherers in southern Africa. N|uu, which has 112 distinct sounds, … [Link]
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