-
+19 +1
The Great Failure of Andrew Carnegie’s Simplified Spelling Lobby
In their own quiet way, spelling and grammar are each forms of lobbying. We treat language as an immutable fact, but it started out as a variety of opinions on what things should be called. And those opinions, like a diamond pressed into form, slowly molded into a definitive shape. But even though language started from dissent, there’s a limit to how much dissent we can tolerate... By Ernie Smith.
-
+14 +1
Language, Policed: The Monster of Bad Spelling
And the newspaper that led a movement for a more accessible language. By Annie Abrams.
-
Analysis+29 +1
Origins of English: Frisian
Linguists consider Frisian to be the language which is most closely related to English. Today, it is spoken primarily...
-
+11 +1
Why is English so weirdly different from other languages?
No, English isn’t uniquely vibrant or mighty or adaptable. But it really is weirder than pretty much every other language. By John McWhorter.
-
+24 +1
20 new words from the Oxford Dictionary, illustrated
From hangry to butt-dial.
-
+16 +1
What Happened to O?
The death of an exclamation. By Gabe Rivin.
-
+17 +1
I read and write in English, but I still dream in Amharic
It’s complicated to be an artist with family spanning multiple languages – my relatives love that I write but think I’m not writing for them. By Hannah Giorgis.
-
+17 +1
Gender neutral 'Mx' may be added to Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary will consider including the gender neutral title "Mx" in the next edition, to represent transgender people and those who don't identify by gender.
-
+20 +1
Why is Canadian English unique?
America’s neighbour resisted annexation by the US and its people remained subjects of the British monarch. But Canada’s English isn’t British or American.
-
+19 +1
The rise of Singlish
Singapore tried to make its multi-racial population speak English. They responded by making a hybrid language - Singlish - now 50 years old. By Tessa Wong.
-
+15 +1
P.G. Wodehouse’s language is as American as it is British
The prolific writer utilized State-side slang in several works and is cited in the OED as a source for a number of American words. By Britt Peterson.
-
+23 +1
The absurdity of English spelling and why we're stuck with it
Perfect spelling, vocabulary, usage, grammar, punctuation and style do not necessarily correlate perfectly with intelligence and competence, but most people infer that they do. Thus perception is reality.
-
+2 +1
FAP... is now a word in the OED
I have now contributed to the modern English...
-
+16 +1
From plitter to drabbletail: the words we love
Dialect terms such as yokeymajig or whiffle-whaffle; all-time favourites like cochineal, clot or eschew; antiquated phrases such as ‘playing the giddy ox’ … leading writers on the words they cherish
-
+34 +1
The History of the English Language, Animated
“The Sun never sets on the English language.”
-
+16 +1
Chamber Music
Review: ‘The Chambers Dictionary, 13th Edition.’ By Matthew Walther
-
+16 +1
‘They,’ the Singular Pronoun, Gets Popular
Copy editors, dictionary officials and language experts seem to be coming around to using the gender-neutral ‘they’ in the singular, instead of ‘he or she.’
-
+18 +1
What Part of “No, Totally” Don’t You Understand?
Not long ago, I walked into a friend’s kitchen and found her opening one of those evil, impossible-to-breach plastic blister packages with a can opener. This worked, and struck me as brilliant, but I mention it only to illustrate a characteristic that I admire in our species: given almost any entity, we will find a way to use it for something other than its intended purpose.
-
+10 +1
How English has changed over the last 1000 years
2 comments by aj0690 -
+15 +1
Palace Denies Prince Andrew Sex Claims
Buckingham Palace has issued a strongly worded denial of allegations that Prince Andrew was involved in "impropriety with underage minors". The statement was released after the Duke of York was named in a US lawsuit. The woman who has made the allegations claims the disgraced US banker Jeffrey Epstein loaned her out to his friends, including Prince Andrew.
Submit a link
Start a discussion