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 » Greetings of the times

Tuesday 28 November 17:00:14 UTC 2017

The following are new forms of greetings that are circulating in Beijing on the heels of a major child molestation scandal at an elite school, the forced eviction of migrant workers, the convictions and suicides of ranking politicians, and perpetual fears of social instability. Jùshuō Běijīng xīn de wènhòu yǔ Dīduān rénkǒu jiànmiàn wèn: Zhǎodào dìfāng zhùle ma? Zhōng duān … [Link]

Omniglot blog » Portugal oranges and Chinese apples

Tuesday 28 November 14:23:03 UTC 2017

In Romanian the word for orange (the fruit) is portocală [portoˈkalə]. This comes from the Greek πορτοκάλι (portokáli – orange), from the Venetian portogallo (orange), from the Italian Portogallo (Portugal). An number of other languages get their word for orange from the same root: – Albanian: portokall – Amharic: ብርቱካናማ (biritukanama) – Arabic: برتقال (burtuqaal) – Azerbaijani: portağal – Bulgarian: … [Link]