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

Language Log » Rudy off the island (constraint)?

Monday 3 October 20:53:29 UTC 2016

Nick Rossoll, "Giuliani Says Trump Better For US ‘Than a Woman'", ABC News 10/2/2016: Speaking of reports that Donald Trump claimed a $916 million loss on his 1995 income taxes, Giuliani said: “Don’t you think a man who has this kind of economic genius is a lot better for the United States than a woman, and the only thing she’s … [Link]

Language Log » ProfKémonGo

Monday 3 October 17:52:39 UTC 2016

Today's PHD Comics:: [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » Trumper Tantrum

Monday 3 October 8:00:00 UTC 2016

Early morning tweeting that is vengeful, mean, or defamatory– ideally laced with falsehood and innuendo. The celebrity threw another Trumper Tantrum filled with misogynistic fat shaming and slut shaming. #trumpertantrum trumpertantrum [Link]

Language Log » Trumpchant in B flat

Monday 3 October 3:03:29 UTC 2016

The opening phrase of Donald Trump's speech in Mannheim PA, 10/1/2016, was sung on a single well-controlled pitch: Your browser does not support the audio element. The fundamental frequency of this monotone chant is about 238 Hz, to which the closest tempered pitch class, at concert A=440, would be the B flat below middle C at 233 Hz. And the … [Link]

Language Log » Transcription of "Barack Obama", "Hillary Clinton", and "Donald Trump" in the Sinosphere

Monday 3 October 2:03:05 UTC 2016

How do you write Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump's names in Chinese? As it turns out, the answer may vary depending on whether the person you ask is from mainland China (ZH-CN), Hong Kong (ZH-HK), Macau (ZH-MO), Malaysia/Singapore (ZH-SG), or Taiwan (ZH-TW). According to Wikipedia, the following are the preferred (or most widely used) transcriptions for Barack Obama, … [Link]

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