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

Language Log » 'Difficult to understate' correction

Sunday 20 August 20:23:41 UTC 2017

Here the source of the inversion corrects it within a few minutes: *overstate, sorry, I always mix that up — Matt Pearce (@mattdpearce) August 19, 2017 For discussion see "'Cannot underestimate' = 'must not underestimate'?", 11/6/2008 "Misunderestimation", 4/4/2009 "Underestimate, overestimate, whatever", 3/23/2011 "'…not understating the threat", 6/5/2012 "Overestimating, underestimating, whatever", 1/11/2013 "'Impossible to understate' again", 3/1/2014 "The Estimation Game", 4/3/2014 … [Link]

Language Log » The sociolinguistics of the Chinese script

Sunday 20 August 13:52:14 UTC 2017

Jonathan Benda posted this on Facebook recently: Reading [Jan Blommaert's] _Language and Superdiversity_ in preparation for my Writing in Global Contexts course in the fall. Does anyone else think the following conclusions about this sign are somewhat wrongheaded? Written with a calligraphic flair, the notice says: gōngyù chūzū shèbèi yīliú shuǐdiàn quán bāo měi yuè sānbǎi wǔshí yuán 公寓出租設備一流 … [Link]

Language Log » Ask Language Log: How to pronounce "Antifa"?

Sunday 20 August 12:25:45 UTC 2017

From P.D.: Long time reader, first time caller, etc. etc. As an armchair linguistics fan and someone who gets his news primarily online rather than from cable news, I've been wondering how one ought to go about pronouncing the word "antifa." I'd like to discuss current events with friends without putting my foot in it, like the friend I once … [Link]