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 » The Friday of Stupid Spending
Today is apparently Black Friday, a custom that originates in the USA and which has been adopted in the UK. It falls the day after Thanksgiving, which hasn’t been adopted in the UK, and many shops and online retailers offer special deals at this time. I don’t have any deals for you, as I don’t sell anything, but what I … [Link]
Language Log » Woo
I accidentally texted my wife with voice recognition…while playing the trombone pic.twitter.com/tWCPSXbbrO — Paul The Trombonist (@JazzTrombonist) November 21, 2017 Update — as indicated in the links cited in the comments, this is apparently a fake. Indeed, it's pretty obviously ought to be a fake, since the word (or character) sequence is going to be ranked implausible by any language … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » belly nipple
a outie belly button bruh, belly nipples are so gross. belly nipple? an outie belly button
[Link]
Language Log » Bump of Chicken
Photo by Ross Bender, taken near Osaka Castle last month: 
Ross remarks: There is so much weird English in Japan that after a while it ceases to shock or interest. However, the attached photo …struck me as somewhat special, even for Japan. Yes, "Bump of Chicken" is the name of a very prominent pop/rock band here. Somehow this bothered me … [Link]
Language Log » Two instances of orthographic ambiguity: GODISNOWHERE and Chen Fake
From Michael Carr: 
The devil's in the kerning. And here's Chen Fake: 
The source of the "fake" name: Chen Fake 陳發科 (1887-1957), a Chinese martial artist who taught Chen-style tai chi. We've encountered such Chinese "fake" expressions before: "258 FAKE " (4/30/14) — that's the street address of the artist Ai Weiwei in Beijing. "Franco-Croatian Squid in pepper sauce " … [Link]
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