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
Omniglot blog » The Bold Step
In Hiberno-English (the English spoken in Ireland), children who misbehave are told not to be bold and might be sent to the bold step. I heard this expression being used the other day and it stuck in my mind as I hadn’t heard it before. In the UK the equivalents are usually naughty and naughty step, which are defined as, … [Link]
languagehat.com » Sortie.
Time for another Languagehat Reader Survey! On the radio news this morning they mentioned a sortie (‘combat mission’) and pronounced it sor-TEE (stress on the last syllable). I had been aware of that pronunciation, since it is given as the second option in dictionaries, but I have always pronounced it SOR-tee (stress on the first syllable), which felt more natural, … [Link]
Language Log » Pinyin with Chinese characters
Matt Keefe came across this sign on a San Francisco streetcar in April: 
Unlike the pinyin on this umbrella bagging machine, the pinyin on this sign not only is accompanied with Chinese characters, it also comes with tones marked and with proper spacing: Zhège zuòwèi yǐ bèi jìnyòng chū yú ānquán yuányīn. Qǐng bùyào zuò zài zhèlǐ. 这个座位已被禁用出于安全原因。请不要坐在这里。 ("This seat … [Link]
Language Log » A quick exit for Cantonese
On his blog, "Throwing Pebbles", the journalist Yuen Chan describes how hard it is nowadays to find a decent elementary school in Hong Kong that offers instruction in Cantonese, rather than in Mandarin: "Mother-tongue Squeezed Out of the Chinese Classroom in Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong" (7/22/15) This despite the fact that Cantonese is the mother tongue of around 90% of the … [Link]
Language Log » Spice lists
Today xkcd: 
Mouseover title: "The Earth's five major mass extinctions were the Posh Extinction, the Sporty Extinction, the Scary Extinction, the Ginger Extinction, and the Baby Extinction." There are many other possibilities, for example Frontal Spice, Parietal Spice, Occipital Spice, Temporal Spice, Limbic Spice, Insular Spice Terminal Spice, Olfactory Spice, Optic Spice, Oculomotor Spice, Trochlear Spice, Trigeminal Spice, Abducens Spice, … [Link]
Language Log » PFL vs. IFL
Emily Landau, "Why Person-First Language Doesn’t Always Put the Person First", Think Inclusive 7/20/2015: There are two main types of language used to refer disability: person-first language and what is known as identity-first language (IFL). PFL as a concept originated among people who wanted to fight back against stigma. In a society that perceived disability as dehumanizing, advocates wanted those … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » Getting lazy
Getting lazy is the act of just laying on the ground after being slammed or a hard fall. Most commonly used amongst skaters, bmx riders, and other extreme sports. Dalton: "hey tyler Whats jake doing on the ground?" Tyler: "he's just getting lazy, he tried dropping in on the fifteen foot halfpipe for the first time and slammed."
… [Link]
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