John Gordon Ross

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 » Dralyuk on Ready’s Dostoyevsky.

Thursday 7 January 23:44:12 UTC 2016

I meant to post this months ago, but efficiency is not my strong suit: perennial LH favorite Boris Dralyuk has an LARB review of Oliver Ready’s translation of Crime and Punishment , and it includes the kind of detailed analysis of passages I crave: The challenges that this polyphony poses to a translator are staggering. The brave soul must shuttle back … [Link]

Omniglot blog » Big fun!

Thursday 7 January 14:06:41 UTC 2016

A friend of mine who is learning Welsh likes to translate Welsh expressions literally and then use them in English. One Welsh equivalent of goodbye is hwyl fawr [hʊɨl vaur], which he translates as “big fun”, which sounds quite funny in English. Do any other languages have a phrase used when parting that has a similar meaning? The Geiriadur Prifysgol … [Link]

Language Log » Chinese characters and the left-brain vs. right-brain hypothesis

Thursday 7 January 12:21:53 UTC 2016

Report of the results of a study that I've been long awaiting: "Different languages spark same brain activity: study" by Chen Wei-han Taipei Times (1/6/16) TOPIC OF DEBATE: An NTNU [National Taiwan Normal University] psychology professor said the results debunk a myth that Chinese and alphabetic languages are processed by different sides of the brain Here are the first three … [Link]

Language Log » The determiner of the turtle is heard in our land

Thursday 7 January 11:40:18 UTC 2016

One useful way to look at the "The case of the disappearing determiners" is to compare bible translations, because this controls to some extent for variation in the underlying message. So as a first tentative step on that path, I compared the Song of Solomon in the King James Version, first published in 1611, with the Song of Solomon in … [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » shit street

Thursday 7 January 8:00:00 UTC 2016

Where you are when everything has gone wrong! Lost the big sale, and now we're up shit street! [Link]

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