On the first Monday in September, the United States observes Labor Day, while Canadians celebrate Labour Day. If you want to know why labour is the accepted spelling in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries like Canada, while Americans prefer labor (and color, favor, honor, humor, and neighbor), check out this classic Word Routes column by Ben Zimmer. Continue reading...
Earlier this month, the Times Higher Education reported on the practice of "Roget-ing," in which plagiarism is disguised by swapping synonyms found in Roget's Thesaurus for words used in the copied paper. Though untraceable, the resulting language ranges from not quite right to cataclysmically horrible. Continue reading...
Educators love to talk about how important vocabulary is, but they are often at wits' end trying to figure out how to teach it effectively. Despite the overwhelming evidence that vocabulary knowledge matters to students' reading comprehension and overall achievement in school, it is rare that you will find schools or school districts implementing systematic vocabulary instruction. Continue reading...
A few weeks ago I started a regular feature on the Slate podcast Lexicon Valley called LinguaFile, in which I present the hosts with a word and have them try to guess its origins. Last time it was discombobulate, and for this week's episode I went with another one of my favorite words, lagniappe, meaning "a bonus gift (as given to a customer from a merchant)." Continue reading...
We're always on the lookout for lists and mentions of rare or unusual words, and the bigger the better. Thus, we read with great interest the Huffington Post piece on "Big, Beautiful Words You Need To Start Using Immediately." Continue reading...
Here is the latest in a series of tips on usage and style shared by Mignon Fogarty, better known as Grammar Girl. With students returning to school, Mignon asks if they're best described as "anxious" or "eager." Continue reading...
On WNYC's Leonard Lopate Show, Vocabulary.com lexicographer Ben Zimmer transformed the shows usual conversation about culture into a call-in vocabulary quiz show. Continue reading...
In the world of branding, coined and contorted names often hog all the attention. Less commented-on are the successful contemporary brand names with long pedigrees: "real" dictionary words that have been used by English speakers for centuries. Continue reading...
Students around the country can take part in a new, nationwide challenge: the Vocabulary Bowl, a competition in which schools vie to see who can master the most words and come out on top of the yearlong Vocabulary.com leaderboard for the 2014-15 school year. Continue reading...