John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons

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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 » "You can't help but not be worried"

Sunday 10 December 16:34:03 UTC 2017

Here's Lulu Garcia-Navarro in discussion with Marvin Odum, Houston's chief recovery officer, about whether the Federal government will actually come through with the funds promised for disaster recovery after last summer's floods ("Houston's Recovery", Weekend Edition Sunday 12/10/2017). He describes returning from Washington without a clear idea of whether the promises will be honored: Your browser does not support the … [Link]

Language Log » Ask Language Log: with + nonfinite clause?

Sunday 10 December 12:19:17 UTC 2017

A staff member at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, responsible for providing guidance for journalists on pronunciation, terminology, grammar, and usage, has asked me about "a particular usage of with, which seems to be doing the job of a conjunction." He wonders whether the construction in question is correct English or not. He supplies these attested examples (all already published by … [Link]

Urban Word of the Day » Youse

Sunday 10 December 8:30:00 UTC 2017

Second Person Plural. A grammatical necessity which is sadly lacking in the English Language. French has "vous" (informal and formal) and German has "ihr" (informal) and Sie (formal).The southern USA version is "you all" Youse are too many to all get into the one car. [Link]

Omniglot blog » Language quiz

Sunday 10 December 7:00:34 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 » Administrative reductions

Sunday 10 December 4:59:04 UTC 2017

A couple of days ago, I heard an interesting talk by Juliet Stanton, who proposed that variation in stress on the -at- in (English) words in -ative depends in a gradient way on the total duration of stressless material between -at- and the word's earlier main stress. Thus -at- stressing should (and does) become more frequent through a series like … [Link]

Language Log » The Australian people have stood up

Sunday 10 December 0:09:45 UTC 2017

In recent months, one after another, instances of Chinese interference in Australian politics have come to light. After a series of outstanding investigative reports in the media, finally Australia is starting to push back against Chinese encroachment: "Laws on foreign influence just the beginning in fight against Chinese coercion", Peter Mattis, Sydney Morning Herald (12/7/17). Most conspicuously, earlier today, the … [Link]

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