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
Wordorigins.org » I Could Care Less
xkcd does it again: [Discuss this post] [Link]
languagehat.com » Windlass.
I am sure I must have looked up windlass before, but since I’ve never used one, or seen one that I remember (I must have seen them on ships, where they’re used for weighing anchor, but not known what they were called), the meaning went right out of my head; I’m hoping that by posting about it I may manage … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » confident turtle
When one sticks their neck out so far as to avoid double chins and exude the confidence of a turtle that comes out of its shell. She used the confident turtle to replace duck face in photos.
[Link]
Language Log » Caring, more or less
Today's xkcd starts this way: 
And ends like this: 
Some past care less posts: "Caring less with stress", 7/8/2004 "Could care less occurs more", 7/13/2004 "Negation by association" (7/13/2004) "Speaking sarcastically" (7/13/2004) "(Auto)biography of a blog thread" (7/16/2004) "Most of the people in the world could care less (7/16/2004) "Caring less all the time: A variant of the etymological fallacy, … [Link]
Language Log » No shitting here
Sign outside an apartment in Taipei: 
Posted on imgur by Jverne The Chinese says: Sài lín liáng, bùyào luàn diū gǒu dàbiàn 賽林涼, 不要亂丟狗大便 ("contest grove cool, don't toss your dog poop here") The first three characters make no sense in Mandarin. You have to read them in Taiwanese, and they don't mean "please". saílíniâ 賽林涼 ("shit your mother" — … [Link]
Language Log » Two unusual Japanese names
From time to time, one encounters Japanese names that evoke bygone days. In Japan, though, things that are archaic somehow manage to stay alive in the present. Two realms in which that happens fairly often are place names and surnames. 1. We are already familiar with some of the oddities of place names from train and metro stations: "Ootori" (8/9/15), … [Link]
languagehat.com » Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogery…
Again, not a weighty post, but the weather’s been miserable and I’m editing two books at once, so I trust you’ll cut me some slack. Lori Dorn reports that Welsh Weatherman Correctly Pronounces a 58-Letter Town Name Without Batting an Eye: While reporting on the warm weather in Wales, broadcaster Liam Dutton correctly pronounced the name of the 58-letter town … [Link]
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