John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons

John Gordon Ross header image 3

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

Language Log » Intriguing Chinese sign spotted in London

Tuesday 15 November 20:19:58 UTC 2016

From Donald Clarke: The sign seems straightforwardly to be a warning that this is a "dangerous construction site". The more you look at it, however, the more questions arise. Why is the Chinese repeated? Did they mean to present it in traditional characters too? 危險的施工現場 Why is the first character in bold? This treatment of the Chinese recurs in the … [Link]

Language Log » English-Cantonese and Hokkien-Malay phrasebooks

Tuesday 15 November 20:13:09 UTC 2016

Ryan of Singapore sent me photographs of a section from a Chinese almanac that amounts to a ten-page English phrasebook phonetically annotated in Cantonese. Here are two of the pages (as usual, click to embiggen): The phrasebook, from the current edition of the Guǎngjīng táng 廣經堂 almanac, is entitled Huá-Yīng tōng yǔ 華英通語. Here are a few sample entries chosen … [Link]

Language Log » Free Tea

Tuesday 15 November 20:04:52 UTC 2016

Advertisement for a beverage that is available in Japanese convenience stores: The label identifies the drink as "FREE Tea" ( furī tī フリーティー) and as being produced and distributed by the Japanese beverage giant Pokka Sapporo. This does not mean that you should feel free to help yourself to a bottle without paying! Rather, "free" here is being used in … [Link]

languagehat.com » Arrival.

Tuesday 15 November 19:47:14 UTC 2016

Last night Songdog and I went to see the new movie Arrival, which I had been very much looking forward to because it features a linguist as its hero and was rumored to do so pretty well. I’m here to tell you that it surpassed my expectations; it’s not only a wonderful movie from the cinematic point of view (I … [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » tronald dump

Tuesday 15 November 8:09:19 UTC 2016

A giant, unavoidable bowel movement whose aftermath can clear an entire house and leaves its shocked victims in a mood as foul as its odor. The police did not need to confront the crowd with riot gear because the assembly quickly and peacefully dispersed after a protester took a steaming tronald dump on the Donald Trump sign, making any further … [Link]

Archive

No Comments

0 responses so far ↓

  • There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.

You must log in to post a comment.