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 » Pig Sanskrit
[This is a guest post by Jichang Lulu] Victor's recent analysis of a certain Antibacterial Lotion of Woman ("Know your bird", 7/29/16) made me wonder what other felicitous Chinglish its purveyors might have come up with. I'd like to report on one mysterious product I found. Although no Chinglish is involved, another language is, more perfect than the Greek, more … [Link]
Omniglot blog » Singluarity
I learnt an interesting new French word today – célibataire. When I first saw it I guessed that it meant celibate, but when I checked in a dictionary I found that while it does mean celibate, it is more commonly used to mean single. So un célibataire is a single man or bachelor, and une célibataire is a single woman … [Link]
languagehat.com » Do the Needful.
Over at Wordorigins.org, donkeyhotay asked about “do the needful,” saying “My understanding is that this is an archaic phrase and that South Asians use it because of the time period that English was introduced into their culture.” Dave Wilton said that was correct, adding: “Indian or South Asian English is a perfectly legitimate dialect of English. Do the needful is … [Link]
Language Log » The Second Amendment people
The controversial words about the Second Amendment that Donald Trump uttered at a rally in North Carolina yesterday are as follows: Hillary wants to abolish — essentially abolish — the Second Amendment. By the way, if she gets to pick her judges… [long pause] Nothing you can do, folks. [long pause] Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » Open Beta
Open Beta is the stage of devolopment where you have to Pre-Purchase the game to have the privelege to test it for any final bugs. "Pre-Purchase for OPEN BETA EARLY ACESS" – Overwatch, Blizzard
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Language Log » "Love in Translation" (with footnotes)
In the Aug. 8 & 15 issue of The New Yorker, staff writer Lauren Collins has a "personal history" piece entitled "Love in Translation" (subtitled, "Learning about culture, communication, and intimacy in my husband's native French"). It's very nicely written and will surely be of interest to Language Log readers. But Collins relies on some linguistic research without giving proper … [Link]
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