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 » Mystery script in a library book

Friday 30 December 15:53:53 UTC 2016

We received the following intriguing note at Language Log Plaza: Hey there, my name's Dan and I work at the Calistoga library. I found this little note in a book that was returned and I'm curious what script it's in. At first I thought it was in Cherokee, but then looked closely and saw it wasn't. It was returned in … [Link]

Language Log » Massive attack of mispronunciation

Friday 30 December 13:42:44 UTC 2016

The People's Daily has published on its microblog (weibo) a long list of "easily mispronounced words". As circulated on Sohu, the list was preceded by this subtitle: kànle jiǎnzhí bù gǎn shuōhuàle 看了简直不敢说话了 ("after you see it you simply won't dare to open your mouth"). In many cases, it's simply a matter of a difference of tone, as with zhīmahù … [Link]

languagehat.com » Merchet.

Friday 30 December 1:28:29 UTC 2016

Another word I’ve learned from Mating (see this post) is merchet, in the words of the OED “A fine paid by a tenant or bondsman to his overlord for the right to give his daughter in marriage”; their etymology: Origin: Probably a borrowing from Welsh; modelled on a French lexical item. Etymons: Welsh merched, merch. Etymology: Probably < Old Welsh merched, plural of merch daughter, girl, wife (attested from 12th cent.: see marry v.), perhaps via Anglo-Norman merchet or post-classical Latin mercheta, merchetum, marchettum (from 13th cent. in British sources; late 12th cent. as mercheitum). Compare Welsh gobr merch merchet (14th cent.). I still have the copy of Branwen ferch Llŷr [Branwen, daughter of Llŷr] we studied in my Middle Welsh class over four decades ago (ferch, i.e. /verχ/, is the lenited form of merch). I can’t remember the last time I had to look up so many words and phrases, English and foreign, when reading a novel in English; I trust no one will be under the misapprehension that this is a complaint. It really is a very good novel, and I’m sorry the end is drawing near. > [Link]

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