John Gordon Ross

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 » Dwam.

Sunday 18 September 21:41:31 UTC 2016

I’ve been wandering about much of the day in a stuporous state brought on by the dank, muggy weather, and I’ve just learned the perfect word for it thanks to an article by Betty Kirkpatrick (former editor of the Chambers dictionary and Roget’s Thesaurus) at The Caledonian Mercury: Many Scots words are so fit for purpose, as they say in … [Link]

Language Log » Hoklo

Sunday 18 September 16:07:25 UTC 2016

[This is the third in a series of four planned posts on Hokkien and related Southern Min / Minnan language issues. The first was "Eurasian eureka" (9/12/16) and the second was "Hokkien in Singapore" (9/16/16).] Some names for Taiwanese language in MSM: Táiyǔ 台語 ("Taiwanese") Táiwānhuà 台灣話 ("Taiwanese") Fúlǎo 福佬 / Héluò 河洛 ("Hoklo") Views from bilingual (Taiwanese and MSM) … [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » fappable

Sunday 18 September 10:35:52 UTC 2016

Something that is sexually desirable, or deemed high enough quality that it can be used for masturbation purposes. Man, that picture is really fappable. [Link]

Omniglot blog » Language quiz

Sunday 18 September 8:00:19 UTC 2016

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

languagehat.com » Globalization of Latin American Writers.

Sunday 18 September 0:30:43 UTC 2016

Adam Critchley interviews Mexican author Álvaro Enrigue about “his conviction that translated work is finding a widening world audience,” and there’s plenty of interesting stuff, beginning with this: I think there has been a change in perspective among readers, both in the US and the UK, regarding the notion of translation. I think reading a work in translation used to … [Link]

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