John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons

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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

Language Log » Tones and the alphabet

Wednesday 27 April 20:33:16 UTC 2016

The question of whether tones are added to alphabet words used in Sinitic languages arose in the discussion that followed this post: "Papi Jiang: PRC internet sensation" (4/25/16) One commenter remarked: It's surely an odd (meaningless) name, not easy to say for a Chinese, which suggests that it wasn't particularly chosen to popularize in the first place. The choice of … [Link]

languagehat.com » Pronouncing an Igbo Name.

Wednesday 27 April 14:07:13 UTC 2016

Nkem Ifejika’s BBC News piece “Why I stopped mispronouncing my Igbo name” is excellent, I might even say exemplary. It not only explains why he grew up not speaking his family’s native Igbo and not even able to pronounce his own name correctly, it includes an audio clip in which he says both the short and long forms, as well … [Link]

Language Log » Dictionaries can be dangerous

Wednesday 27 April 11:38:53 UTC 2016

From the Hydraulic Press Channel on YouTube: [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » wedmate

Wednesday 27 April 7:00:00 UTC 2016

In the wake of the recent legalization of LGBT marriage in the U.S. , this gender-neutral noun refers to a person about to get married very soon or recently did so, for either LGBTQ or straight people. (synonyms: bride, groom). For this rehearsal, I need the wedmates to go stand right in front of the minister and hold hands.Yes, I … [Link]

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