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 » "I want to God bless America"
Donald Trump has developed the habit of ending his speeches with the formula "Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America". Thus from his 2/6/2017 speech at CENTCOM: Your browser does not support the audio element. And from his 4/21/2017 Weekly Radio Address: Your browser does not support the audio element. But at the end of an event yesterday, … [Link]
Language Log » Pronominal reference to the arbitrary dog
Following Bean's guest post about being scorned by an 8-year-old child for not using singular they when it was appropriate, Language Log now presents the first evidence (to my knowledge) of a newspaper abandoning the usual use of it to refer to animals, and instead using singular they for an unknown arbitrary animal. This is from an article in the … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » earth biscuit
A tree-hugging female hippie who doesn't shave and always looks like she's maybe been rolling around in the dirt. Wow, that Alanis. What an earth biscuit.
[Link]
Language Log » Chinese restaurant shorthand, part 4
Spotted by Greg Ralph in a London restaurant: 
I will give each item on the receipt in both simplified and traditional characters, followed by explanatory notes: liángbàn hǎizhē 凉伴海蜇 / 涼伴海蜇 Note: bàn 伴 ("partner; companion; accompany") has been substituted for bàn 拌 ("mix [in]; blend") — Běijīng tiánjiǎ 北京填甲 / 北京填甲 Note: the only native speakers of Sinitic languages … [Link]
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