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Language LoungeA Monthly Column for Word Lovers
Dialect Wars: Pacific Theater
How American-accented English in the Philippines is surpassing Indian English.
A recent New York Times article reports that the Philippines has now overtaken India as the hub of the outsourced call center. The article contains a telling characterization of the Philippines as "a former United States colony that has a large population of young people who speak lightly accented English and, unlike many Indians, are steeped in American culture."
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Dog EaredBooks we love
"From Elvish to Klingon": An Impressive Overview of Conlang-ology
A new book explores the fascinating world of constructed languages.
When word nerdom and sci-fi nerdom collide, what do you get? A dictionary-bot that recites definitions while performing the duties of a butler? Someday, I hope that's true. For now, the answer is From Elvish to Klingon: Exploring Invented Languages: a thorough look at invented languages (also known as conlangs, short for constructed languages) from sci-fi and elsewhere.
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What's a Misle?
Have you ever been misled by the spelling of a word into thinking that it's pronounced differently? Like, say, thinking that "misled" is pronounced like "mizzled"? Now you know what a "misle" is. On the Chronicle blog Lingua Franca, linguist Geoffrey Pullum investigates, inspired by a colleague's assumption that "biopic" rhymes with "myopic." Read Pullum's post here.
Word CountWriters Talk About Writing
Dennis Baron's Word of the Year for 2011: "Volatility"
When the world is in a bipolar mood, we need a volatile word to capture the zeitgeist.
Dennis Baron, English professor at the University of Illinois and author of the blog The Web of Language, writes:
The Web of Language Word of the Year for 2011 is "volatility." Volatility may not be trendy like occupy or Arab Spring, but it's the one word that characterizes the bipolar mood of 2011 in everything from politics to economics. Continue reading...Language LoungeA Monthly Column for Word Lovers
Brief is Beautiful
When it comes to modern dictionary definitions, is brevity the best policy?
The Internet makes it possible to publish dictionaries containing entries of any length, in any format, that are not necessarily subject to traditional rules or conventions. So it's fair to ask: is abandoning the traditional short-form definition, along with the paper it was once printed on, a case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater? Or is it a good opportunity to reinvent lexicography?
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Behind the DictionaryLexicographers Talk About Language
The Monstrous Indecency of Hybrid Etymology
There's a long tradition of disparaging words with mixed classical roots.
The word hybrid (from Latin hybrida, "mongrel") commonly refers to animals and plants of mixed lineage, and more recently to vehicles with two or more power sources. In linguistic morphology, it refers to a word formed by combining elements that originated in two or more languages. The process is called hybridization.
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Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon
Down Under, Obama Has a "Chinwag"
World leaders use "Strine" (Australian English) for humorous effect.
Visiting Australia earlier this week, President Obama broke the ice by injecting some Australian slang into his public speeches. He used a selection of Aussie-isms like chinwag and ear-bashing for comic effect, but it's probably a good thing that he didn't go overboard by trying to mimic a broad Australian English accent (often called "Strine"). British Prime Minister David Cameron, meanwhile, wasn't so lucky: he got into some hot water for an ill-advised attempt at Strine.
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