John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons

John Gordon Ross header image 3

Language Stuff

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 » Siribhoovalaya.

Sunday 17 January 23:23:50 UTC 2016

This Wikipedia article sounds completely mad, but apparently the book actually exists, and I leave my readers to sort out whatever kernels of truth might reside in this description: The Siribhoovalaya (Kannada: ಸಿರಿಭೂವಲಯ) is a unique work of multi-lingual literature written by Kumudendu Muni, a Jain monk. The work is unique in that it employs not alphabets, but is composed … [Link]

Language Log » Some linguistic notes on the Taiwan election

Sunday 17 January 13:14:22 UTC 2016

Taiwan has just concluded its general elections with some amazing results. From a long-term resident in Taiwan; A twenty-five point victory for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the presidential election! Tsai Ing-wen: 56.1% Eric Chu (KMT): 31.0% James Soong (PFP): 12.8% A huge, emotional crowd in Taipei for Tsai. A very, very good day for the DPP, which will … [Link]

Omniglot blog » Language quiz

Sunday 17 January 11:56:34 UTC 2016

Language quiz image Here’s a recording in a mystery language. Can you identify the language, and do you know where it’s spoken? [Link]

Language Log » Celebrating the Linguistic Significance of Martin Luther King Jr.

Sunday 17 January 11:24:55 UTC 2016

[This is a guest post by Walt Wolfram, with Caroline Myrick, Jon Forrest, and Michael J. Fox.] Martin Luther King Jr’s speeches are without peer in their public recognition and rhetorical significance. King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech is rated as the number one speech of the twentieth century and several other speeches are ranked within the top 100. … [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » On My Michelle Obama

Sunday 17 January 8:30:00 UTC 2016

Used in Fifth Harmony's song “BO$$”, has a similar meaning as fleek but also involves having a healthy body and diet of vegetation. Person 1: How's that diet going? Person 2: Gurl, I'm on my Michelle Obama! I had some turnips and my body feels great! [Link]

Language Log » A rebirth for Manchu?

Sunday 17 January 2:35:01 UTC 2016

Manchu was the language of the last Chinese dynasty, the Qing, which ruled from 1644-1912, and had two of its emperors (Kangxi, Qianlong) each rule for 60 years or more. Today, out of nearly ten million ethnic Manchus, fewer than one hundred can still speak the language fluently, and it is generally regarded as being on the brink of extinction. … [Link]

Archive

No Comments

0 responses so far ↓

  • There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.

You must log in to post a comment.