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

languagehat.com » Norwottuck II.

Thursday 16 February 23:25:19 UTC 2017

A decade ago I posted about the local place name Norwottuck (“Or something like that”); now I’ve come across what seems to be a knowledgeable discussion in Alice Nash’s “Quanquan’s Mortgage of 1663” in Marla R. Miller (ed.), Cultivating a Past: Essays on the History of Hadley, Massachusetts . On p. 29 Nash says it’s properly Nolwottog, with the accent on … [Link]

Omniglot blog » A Tragic Goat Song

Thursday 16 February 17:36:26 UTC 2017

A tragic goat How is the word tragedy connected to goats and songs? The answer is that tragedy comes ultimately from the Ancient Greek word τραγῳδία ‎(tragōidía – epic play, tragedy) which comes from τράγος ‎(trágos – male goat) and ᾠδή ‎(ōidḗ, – song). Apparently the goat reference comes from satyrc drama, which featured actors dressed in goatskins playing satyrs. Or because at … [Link]

Language Log » "Dick voice": Annoying voices and gender stereotypes

Thursday 16 February 11:29:35 UTC 2017

During the 2016 presidential campaign, there was a lot of negative commentary about Hillary Clinton's voice. Some examples from across the political spectrum are compiled and discussed here, and even-the-liberal-The-Atlantic published on "The Science Behind Hating Hillary's Voice". Since Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump pretty much got a pass for vocal characteristics analogous to Hillary's, it was suggested more than … [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » Flynncinerate

Thursday 16 February 8:30:00 UTC 2017

To torch a good job by accidentally engaging in treasonous acts. I accidentally tucked a list of all CIA operatives into the garter of a stripper at a Russian Embassy party last night and totally Flynncinerated my career. [Link]

Language Log » PaPaPa

Thursday 16 February 3:06:05 UTC 2017

My, my! What does the signage on this van in Chengdu, Sichuan Province (China) say? From: "Chinese firm ordered to remove sexually suggestive Valentine’s Day advertisements" (SCMP, 2/15/17). Qíngrén jié yídòng chē 情人节移动PaPa车 ("Valentine's Day Mobile PaPa Van") zhāoshǒu jí tíng 招手即停 ("stops when hailed") You're probably wondering what "PaPa" (or "PaPaPa", as at the top of the van in … [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.