Microlog
14 Microlog entries tagged with ‘language’
Spelling: A Rebuttal From Wired’s Copydesk
Specifically, a rebuttal of Anne Trubek’s assertion that we should do away with spelling rules altogether. I’ve long argued about this, being both a subeditor and one who condones conversational grammar: we need to learn the rules before we can break them. Arts & Culture ·
Phoney politeness and muddled messages: a guide to euphemisms
“A culture without euphemism would be more honest, but rougher.” Indeed; directness has its place, but euphemisms make life, shall we say, colourful. Interesting ·
We know who [Johnny] Depp is, thank you
On the overuse of square brackets when editing verbatim quotes. Media & Journalism ·
South African English is lekker!
I’m pretty sure Bee doesn’t use even half of these (the ones that aren’t plain old English English, I mean). See also: more on South African English from the OED. Interesting ·
Why Arabic is Terrific
It really is. Also: Maciej’s aside about ‘frat bros’ is a killer. Arts & Culture ·
The thorny problem of ‘ye’
So it turns out it was pronounced as ‘the’ all along. Arts & Culture ·
15 Wonderful Words With No English Equivalent
I particularly like ‘zhaghzhagh’; it’s very onomatopoeic. Interesting ·
The OED and Oxford Dictionaries
The OED makes the distinction between its various dictionaries. Handy to know. Arts & Culture ·
Mind your language: in praise of subeditors
The editor of the Guardian style guide writes in praise of subeditors: “Given the indispensable contribution that they make, it seems perverse that the role of subs has been questioned, albeit mainly from those more interested in the cost of everything than the value of anything.” Media & Journalism ·
The 100 Greatest Movie Insults of All Time
It goes without saying that this is Not Safe For Work. Sound & Screen ·
Boing Boing post sparks grammar dispute
See if you can spot the error that Andy and Brad have made. Arts & Culture ·
The BBC has a ranked list of rude words
Reminiscent of George Carlin’s seven dirty words, but the difference is you can say most of these words on British TV as long as it’s after the watershed. Arts & Culture ·
Verbatim: The Language Quarterly
I found this at least a year ago but never linked at the time. Well worth a download. Arts & Culture ·
“My wife gets nervous when I swear at the radio, so I’ll say it here: there is no /zh/ sound in Mandarin Chinese!”
I’ll be sure to remember that. Arts & Culture ·
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This page lists all Microlog entries by MacDara Conroy tagged with ‘language’. You will find many more entries sorted by month and by category in the Archives.
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