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 » Automated Reconstruction of Ancient Languages.
This BBC Science story by Rebecca Morelle… well, really all I need do is point out that the affiliations of the authors of the paper it’s based on, “Automated reconstruction of ancient languages using probabilistic models of sound change,” are one Department of Statistics, one Department of Psychology, and two Computer Science Divisions. My basic response to any paper making … [Link]
Language Log » UM/UH accommodation
Over the years, we've presented some surprisingly consistent evidence about age and gender differences in the rates of use of different hesitation markers in various Germanic languages and dialects. See the end of this post for a list; or see Martijn Wieling et al., "Variation and change in the use of hesitation markers in Germanic languages", forthcoming: In this study, … [Link]
Omniglot blog » French and potatoes
I came across an interesting phrase in Scottish Gaelic today: Ith do bhuntàta beag mus dig na Frangaich!, which means “eat your small potatoes before the French come!” and it is apparently said to children picking at their food to encourage them to eat up [source]. Are there similar phrases in other languages, perhaps used in different contexts? What did … [Link]
Language Log » Local language
From Bob Bauer: A couple of days ago I discovered one of your Language Logs from last year that had a very interesting and very long back-and-forth discussion on the distinctive characteristics of Hong Kong's Chinese language.* I noticed.one commenter with initials HL** mentioned some particularly interesting things about the use of the term Punti 本地話*** to mean "Cantonese" in … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » FOH
Fuck Outta Here A shorter way to say Get the fuck outta here Guess who I saw yesterday? Who? Your old ex. Calvin! FOH! Where you see that fool?
[Link]
languagehat.com » Languages and Ecosystems.
This Living on Earth story makes a point that’s been made here before but that needs to be repeated because it’s often neglected by those who think the death of languages is no big deal (why can’t they just speak English?): But [Jonathan] Loh, who’s also a research associate at the Zoological Society of London, says that languages are dying … [Link]
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