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 » Will you be pernoctating?
If someone asked you if you were planning to pernoctate, would you know what they meant? This is a word I came across today in the blog A Linguist Abroad in a post about ‘Interesting’ Cambridge rules. It appears in the sentence: A Tutor (the pernoctating Tutor) is on duty every night and may stop a gathering forthwith if it … [Link]
languagehat.com » Condo.
No, not the English word, short for condominium, but the Latin verb: condō, condere, condidī, conditum. Many people are familiar with it from the phrase ab urbe condita ‘from the founding of the city’ (the founding of Rome is traditionally dated to 753 BCE), and I (a diligent but long-lapsed Latin student) thought of it as meaning ‘to found.’ Then, … [Link]
Language Log » Say what?
Mike Miller received the text below via WeChat recently, where it seems to be making the rounds: Gěi dàjiā jiǎng yīgè gǎnrén de gùshì: Yīgè qiāng kōng hé jī shè jī cǎn chǐ dú ē, túrán, chài yī líng diàn máo bīn qǐ, lí yuè miè chán…ránhòu jiù sǐle. Tài gǎnrénle…! Zhè gùshì jiào “yīgè wénmáng de bēi'āi”. Dàjiā wǎn'ān, … [Link]
Language Log » One can't deny that it isn't comforting
Jordan Hoffman, "Mother's Day review — almost transcendentally terrible", The Guardian 4/28/2016: One can’t deny, however, that this sort of badness – this transcendent, almost unearthly badness – isn’t oddly comforting. One can't deny that this sentence doesn't have one more not than it needs, either. Working it out layer by layer: This sort of badness is comforting. (The point, … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » Dusty balls
A hood term used to describe when a man has not had sexual intercourse for a prolonged period of time. Guy: Dude I just fucked the hottest bitch last night!Other guy: Aw man that sounds amazing. I haven't banged anybody in months.Guy: Daaaaamn you got dusty balls boy!
[Link]
Language Log » Ted Cruz's "basketball ring" — or was it "rim"?
Ted Cruz has gotten a lot of very creative grief for apparently messing up the re-enactment of a scene from the movie Hoosiers by referring to the height of a "basketball ring": But in our comments this morning, Richard Hershberger wrote: Speaking of politicians speaking, I would like to put in a request for an analysis of whether Cruz said … [Link]
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