John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons

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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

Omniglot blog » Toe cozy

Friday 21 April 14:53:30 UTC 2017

My new ToeCozy How do you find something if you don’t know what it’s called or even if it exists? This is the problem that faced me yesterday when I started looking for something to cover the toes of my left foot that stick out of my plaster cast. I was using a sock, but it didn’t fit very well, and kept on … [Link]

Language Log » Schooled on singular "they"

Friday 21 April 13:25:22 UTC 2017

[This is a guest post by Bean] My eight-year-old daughter in conversation with me last night: Scene: I am giving her a sock, which she had brought home, only to find she already had both of her socks. So it logically must belong to some other girl (it's obviously a girl's sock). Me: So, bring this lost sock back to … [Link]

Language Log » The language of homophobia on a Chinese campus

Friday 21 April 1:42:46 UTC 2017

Banner displayed on the main campus of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, by members of the women’s basketball team: The banner reads: wéihù Zhōnghuá mínzú chuántǒng lúnlǐ hànwèi shèhuì zhǔyì héxīn jiàzhí dǐzhì xīfāng fǔxiǔ sīxiǎng qīn shí ràng tóngxìngliàn yuǎnlí dàxué xiàoyuán 维护中华民族传统伦理 捍卫社会主义核心价值 抵制西方腐朽思想侵蚀 让同性恋远离大学校园 Maintain the traditional morals of the … [Link]

languagehat.com » The Truth Behind Familiar Quotations.

Friday 21 April 1:36:52 UTC 2017

Ben Yagoda reviews Garson O’Toole’s new book, Hemingway Didn’t Say That: The Truth Behind Familiar Quotations , which sounds like a lot of fun; I’ll quote the ending, which I especially enjoyed: And so it goes with that wonderful tale about Hemingway being challenged to write a short story in six words, and coming up with, “For sale: baby shoes. Never … [Link]

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