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 » Multilingual beach ball warning

Monday 24 October 14:21:05 UTC 2016

I spotted this very impressive warning at Siesta Key beach in Sarasota, Florida yesterday morning: The English at the top is concise and specific, a distinguishing feature that we have observed before, e.g., "French vs. English" (8/2/15). Aside from the sheer multiplicity of languages represented, what struck me most about the different versions is that they didn't seem to be … [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » note to self

Monday 24 October 9:00:00 UTC 2016

1. an exclamation used when you want to punctuate/emphasize an obvious or insulting quip or action 2. an exclamation highlighting something you did not know until then 3. a personal reminder 1. "note to self: Jarod is an idiot" 2. "note to self: don't put wooden objects in the dishwasher" 3. "note to self: pay rent" [Link]

Wordorigins.org » What English Will Sound Like In 100 Years

Monday 24 October 4:40:10 UTC 2016

An online article by Michael Erard discusses the possible phonetic changes that English might go through in the coming decades and centuries. The best part of the article are three sound files of the opening lines of Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, read in Old English, in modern Received Pronunciation, and in what English might sound like in a … [Link]

languagehat.com » Katexic Clippings.

Monday 24 October 0:12:56 UTC 2016

From the About page: Founded during the high heat of the 2014 Alaskan summer, Katexic Clippings is a (now) weekly email newsletter for bookworms, word nerds and the incurably curious. In each issue: WORK: a concise, compelling work or excerpt WORD(S): a wonderful word or fascinating phrase WEB: a bijou suite of links WATCH/WITNESS: a video, map, painting, picture, animation … [Link]

Language Log » New spamference joke

Monday 24 October 0:00:48 UTC 2016

Ethan Weston & Carter Woodiel, "Paper Fully Written By iOS Autocomplete Accepted By Physics Conference", Newsy 10/23/2016: A nonsensical academic paper on nuclear physics written only by iOS autocomplete has been accepted for a scientific conference. Christoph Bartneck, an associate professor at the Human Interface Technology laboratory at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, received an email inviting him … [Link]

Archive