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
languagehat.com » Fidus amor.
Thea Thorsen’s OUPBlog post Want to know the Latin for “true love”? is mainly about Ovid, but this paragraph contains what I’m pretty sure is a false assertion: Fidus amor. That’s “true love” in Latin. Historically, such love is often claimed to have emerged with the troubadours of twelfth century Provence. The troubadours used the Occitan term fin amor for … [Link]
Urban Word of the Day » Not actually my President
When all you hear about on the news and social media is Donald Trump and you don't live in America. I almost never hear about any of my own country's news. All the news has been is Trump this and Trump that and he's not actually my President.
[Link]
Language Log » Justin Bieber OK infix
What's going on here? How did Justin Bieber become an infix (more precisely tmesis) inserted between the "O" and the "K" of "OK"? I'll explain that momentarily. First I'll just translate the sentence without the infix: Fánshì dōu OK jiù duìle 凡事都OK就对了 ("It's correct that everything is all right".) With the Justin Bieber infix, the first and most important part … [Link]
Language Log » Beggar thy neighbor's question
Piers Morgan, "The wife-beater, the witch and the White House: Why the hell did Trump ever tell Rob Porter and Omarosa ‘you’re hired’?", Daily Mail 2/13/2018: 'Shut the f**k up, a**hole,’ snarled Omarosa Manigault-Newman at me. ‘How are your kids going to feel when they wake up and discover their dad’s a f**king f*gg*t?’ Yes, this is the same Omarosa … [Link]
Language Log » Mistakes in English and in Chinese
I'm reading Paul Midler's What's Wrong with China (Hoboken, NJ: 2018). Midler has spent two decades as a business consultant in East Asia and speaks Mandarin. His book is replete with penetrating observations about many aspects of society and culture and is solidly based on extensive first-hand experience and deep learning in Chinese history. Its pages are filled with keen … [Link]
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