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 » A’a
One Hawaiian word that is used in English is a’a, which is defined as “a kind of rough-surface volcanic rock” [source]. However in Hawaiian it is written ʻaʻā, pronounced [ʔəˈʔaː] and means: 1. to burn, blaze, glow; fire; staring (eyes) 2. lava; stony, abounding with ʻaʻā lava 3. Sirius (the star) 4. young stage of damselfish The word aʻa [əˈʔa] … [Link]
languagehat.com » Parallelepiped.
Scrolling through my Facebook feed this morning (a chore I generally perform once a day), I found a series of posts from He Who Comments Here as ∅ under the heading “New students”; the relevant excerpts: Today I used the word “parallelepiped” in class. I love good old geometry words. (I think that the phrase “good old geometry word” is … [Link]
Language Log » Springtime
Today's SMBC, oddly out of phase with the seasons, starts this way: 
The last panel: 
It would spoil the joke, but some of the translations ought to be things like "Hey, it's me!", or "Keep out!", or "Predator!", or … See also "No More Woof", 1/2/2014, especially this: 
[Link]
Wordorigins.org » trigger warning, trigger
Trigger warnings have been a focus of some rather highly charged discussion at universities across North America lately. A trigger warning is a notice posted at the beginning of material, such as that depicting rape or violence, that may act as a catalyst or trigger for those suffering post-traumatic stress, so that they can mentally prepare themselves to view the … [Link]
Language Log » Vocabulary display in the CNN debate
For fans of what we might call rhetoricometry — methods that let you analyze political discourse without having to listen to it or read it 🙂 — here's a type-token plot of the contributions to Wednesday's CNN debate of five of the eleven candidates who were featured in the prime-time round: 
This plot suggests that Donald Trump's relatively low rate … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » hottish
Somewhat hot. Although cannot be classified as "hot", one who is hottish is not completely ugly either. That chick's not bad bro. She's hottish. I'm gonna go say what's up.
[Link]
Language Log » Political pitches
At a loss for what else to say about last night's debate, I decided to follow up on "Political pitch ranges" (4/22/2015) by taking a look at the f0 quantiles of the 11 candidates' opening remarks: 
As before, Jeb! has one of the lowest voices — here roughly matched by Ben Carson and Ted Cruz. Cruz's low pitch range is … [Link]
languagehat.com » Neenish.
The Australian National Dictionary Centre, the fine folks who bring you Ozwords, a blog listed in my sidebar, have a dictionary listing as well, Meanings and origins of Australian words and idioms, and from the letter N I bring you: neenish It is a tradition at the Australian National University that computers have names as well as serial numbers. The … [Link]
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