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 » The Barbarian Beard.
Victor Mair has a post at the Log full of the kind of detailed historical/philological investigation I love. A correspondent wrote that “in Chinese the word for beard (胡子) has an archaic root meaning ‘foreign,’” and Mair, who had long “wondered if all of these expressions [húshuō(bādào) 胡说(八道) 'nonsense; ridiculous; bullshit,' húrén 胡人 'barbarian,' húzi 胡子 'beard,' húnào 胡闹 'act … [Link]
Language Log » The bearded barbarian
Ben Zimmer mentioned to me that he was on the Slate podcast Lexicon Valley talking about the origins of the word "gringo": It's most likely derived from Spanish "Griego" 'Greek' to refer to the "gibberish" of foreign speakers. That has led to some discussions of similar words for foreigner-talk in various languages. On Twitter, Mara Katz (a linguistics MA student … [Link]
Language Log » Are we Americans, Donald and I?
Under current law, Donald Trump and I are both American citizens by right of birth. Donald was born in New York City in 1946, and I was born in Middletown, Connecticut in 1947. But if birthright citizenship were retroactively revoked, it would take some archival research to determine our status, and (as I understand Mr. Trump's proposals about immigration reform) … [Link]
Omniglot blog » No holds barred
I came across the phrase no holds barred today and wondered where it came from. I probably have seen it written down before, but didn’t pay any particular attention to it and thought it was written no holes barred. According The Phrase Finder, this phrase comes from wrestling and refers to wrestling matches in which the normal rules are suspended … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » anchor baby
What your girlfriend hopes to achieve by "forgetting" to taker her pill, thus guaranteeing that you'll have to spend the rest of your now ruined life with her… or that you'll have to run from the law forever to avoid child support. I caught my girlfriend flushing her pill and poking holes in all the condoms… I think she wants … [Link]
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