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

languagehat.com » Tolstoy’s Sevastopol Stories.

Thursday 7 July 22:42:46 UTC 2016

I haven’t posted about my Russian reading in a while. It’s not that I’ve slacked off on the reading, or that the material hasn’t been good — far from it: I’ve read Ostrovsky’s comedy Bednost ne porok [Poverty Is No Crime] (a rich merchant wants to marry his daughter to an old roué even though she and his clerk Mitya … [Link]

Language Log » Clamp down on English

Thursday 7 July 20:46:55 UTC 2016

In media reporting on current events in China, two of the most conspicuous terms one encounters are "clamp down" (qǔdì 取缔, qiābā 掐巴, qiánzhì 钳制, etc.) and "crack down" (yánlì dǎjí 严厉打击 / 嚴厲打擊 [to show how different simplified and traditional forms of the characters can be]). There are also numerous other similar terms with related meanings in common use, … [Link]

Omniglot blog » Budge up!

Thursday 7 July 16:22:02 UTC 2016

In the café where I had lunch today I saw a sign saying something like “Our tables are for sharing. Just ask people to budge up.” – I’ll take a picture of it the next time I’m there. I thought budge up sounding like a very British kind of thing to say. Is it used in other English-speaking countries? If … [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » dead ass

Thursday 7 July 7:30:00 UTC 2016

To be completely and honestly serious. A reply used by people who have been questioned on the truth of their comment. To be truthful and not lie. A truncation of the phrase "dead ass serious". Guy 1: Yo, swear I saw George (W.) Bush jump that fence for a corndog… Guy 2: What? nah uh, you're lying.. Guy 1: No, … [Link]

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