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 » Weaponized Tibetan Pinyin
Jichang Lulu has just posted a very interesting article titled “the clash of romanisations” (5/12/17). It begins: Last month the Ministry of Civil Affairs (民政部) published a list of six ‘standardised’ place names in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, a large part of which the PRC claims as part of South Tibet (藏南). This generated the predictable Indian protests, … [Link]
Language Log » Priming the pump: a cartoon history
As Mark Liberman noted, Donald Trump seemed to imply in his recent interview with The Economist that he coined the phrase “priming the pump,” or at least the financial use of it: “I came up with it a couple of days ago and I thought it was good.” Was this just some sort of peculiar joke, especially considering that Trump … [Link]
Language Log » Priming the pump
“Transcript: Interview with Donald Trump“, The Economist 5/11/2017: That all goes into tax reduction. Tremendous savings. But beyond that it’s OK if the tax plan increases the deficit? It is OK, because it won’t increase it for long. You may have two years where you’ll…you understand the expression “prime the pump”? Yes. We have to prime the pump. It’s very … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » party sludge
noun. The mixture of spilt booze, puke, dirt and sweat that accumulates on the floor during a party in any frat house or dank basement. Often destroys any white shoes, particularly white ones "Aw man, I have to get this party sludge off my nice new shoes in time for Easter."
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Language Log » When intonation overrides tone, part 2
Richard Warmington has a deep interest in the relationship between tone and intonation, especially in Mandarin. He has made a number of penetrating observations and asked a series of probing questions on this phenomenon. Since this is also a subject that has come up numerous times on Language Log (see below for a several previous posts), I will list here … [Link]
languagehat.com » Eisenkot.
Elon Gilad has another good Haaretz column, this time on an interesting surname: Many Israelis welcomed the news that the Israel Defense Forces’ new chief of staff, Gadi Eisenkot, will be the first Israeli of Moroccan descent to attain the senior post. While it is true that both Eisenkot’s parents were born in Morocco, many – including a headline in … [Link]
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