“Ravens’ secret sign code probed”
More evidence — should any still be needed — that intelligence isn’t limited to humans, or even to primates.
Archive of posts filed under the Language category.
Facts, observations, or ideas that interest me about human languages.
“An Apostrophe Is the Difference Between…”
“…a business that knows its shit and a business that knows it’s shit.” Earthy goodness on the subject of English punctuation (a sore point with me).
“Incent”
Although this is an interesting article to me, it would probably bore just about everyone else to tears. The only thing that might mildly interest some people is the coining of a new (to me) word in the last sentence: […] With the pressure off, Siemens is incented to deal with the PR problem and …
Word of the Day
Comedogenic. Obviously from the same root as comedian and comedy. Presuming you don’t already know what it means, you’d think that it has something to do with generating comedy. Well, I suppose it kind of does. Humans can be pretty cruel at times.
“Commonly Misheard Expressions to Avoid (or Fix) in Your Writing”
This kind of thing is a pet peeve of mine, and of my wife’s. We’re both avid readers, and she’s the daughter of a teacher as well; we know how these phrases are supposed to be spelled, even if we don’t know the background of them (I never knew where “beyond the pale” actually came …
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“Unsuck It Translates Awful Corporate Speak into Plain English”
I’ve often wondered why some people can’t just use plain English. I understand that there are some specialized terms in every occupation, but making up whole new words when existing words will do? Or using flowery and obfuscating phrases instead of well-known ones that mean the same thing? So far as I can tell, the …
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“‘Nerd’ and ‘Geek’ Should Be Banned, Professor Says”
I understand his argument (that the world needs more nerds and geeks, and the associations brought up by the labels are turning people away from them), but as a former nerd (socially inept loner) and current geek (an expert in a technical field), I rather like things the way they are. It would be nice …
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“Apostrophe.me Explains When You Really Need Apostrophes”
Now if we could only get more people to use it… there’s a nail salon near our house that proudly declares itself “Finger’s & Toe’s”. I wince every time I see their sign… unless it’s run by two people with the nicknames of Finger and Toe, they really need to check their punctuation.
“A Language of Smiles”
Musings on how the muscles used to enunciate a language might affect the mood of the culture that speaks it. I find this stuff fascinating. (For what it’s worth, I lean toward the “classical conditioning” hypothesis, though the “intrinsic properties” idea could also have merit.)
“Cold solitude, filthy sins: not so metaphoric”
I’ve thought this for a long time. Interesting connection to psi research at the end though.