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 » "One big Donald Trump AIDS"

Sunday 25 June 14:34:58 UTC 2017

As I've observed several times over the years, automatic speech recognition is getting better and better, to the point where some experts can plausibly advance claims of "achieving human parity". It's not hard to create material where humans still win, but in a lot of ordinary-life recordings, the machines do an excellent job. Just like human listeners, computer ASR algorithms … [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » tickets to policeman's ball

Sunday 25 June 7:30:00 UTC 2017

Defination:To pay off a cop. a bribe, A "Shakedown", .a solicatation for a payoff by an official, agent, officer, pretend or real. c.t. ex: "Theres a $500.OO fine for That!", "Or, you could buy a coupl'a -tickets to Policeman's Ball" , "50 bucks each, 2-3 should do" ( No, there was no 'Real' Ball/Dance). c.t [Link]

Omniglot blog » Language quiz

Sunday 25 June 5:00:34 UTC 2017

Here’s a recording in a mystery language. Can you identify the language, and do you know where it’s spoken? [Link]

Language Log » Renewal of the race / nation

Sunday 25 June 2:53:17 UTC 2017

Jamil Anderlini in the Financial Times (6/21/17), "The dark side of China’s national renewal", writes: To an English-speaking ear, rejuvenation has positive connotations and all nations have the right to rejuvenate themselves through peaceful efforts. But the official translation of this crucial slogan is deeply misleading. In Chinese it is “Zhonghua minzu weida fuxing” and the important part of the … [Link]

languagehat.com » Nahuatl in LA.

Sunday 25 June 1:48:48 UTC 2017

Peggy McInerny writes about a Nahuatl program for the Latin American Institute: The language of the Aztecs, Nahuatl [pronounced na’ wat], is alive and well today in Los Angeles. Beginning and intermediate classes in modern Nahuatl are offered at UCLA, with an advanced class slated to launch next year. A few miles due north at the Getty Museum, historians and … [Link]

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