Geoffrey Chaucer doth humbly request that thou celebrate an old, middle, ancient, archaic or dead language on the first day of April. Continue reading
language
7 posts
This is the final post of the series that examines topics from the perspective of the characters in the upcoming novel, The Paths of Marriage which will be for sale starting 1 October 2014.
“We all Spoke English, just not the Same Language” is written from the point of view of the character, Anand Suresh. Continue reading
No one is immune to the volcanic force of language. An altered preposition, an inflection or a simple nuance can change the course of events if not our mood for the day. This awesome power is acknowledged before we even arrive on the planet. Our names will be labored over (sometimes literally.) First names, middle names, even last named will be constructed to pay respect or foretell character traits or ensure we’ll never have a seat on the supreme court. The words we are first taught, those we are allowed to hear and those we are punished for saying are all overseen with a scrutiny befitting a bank manager. Our legal system and our government are keen on the minutia of language and are poised to change and limit it all the time. (Lest we think only of the dangers of limiting free speech, let us remember that screaming “fire” in a movie theater is simply not prudent.) As a society we are continuously reexamining what words and terms are inflammatory or used to incite. Continue reading
The big melting pot of America has many accents. Or at least you all do but I speak nothing but straight up American.
There is a neat quiz that helps analyze what type of accent you have.
Report back. Continue reading
Really, really simple.
You’re going to be stuck in a foreign country for a month where hardly anyone speaks English. If you could only know 5 words in the language of that country, what words would you choose?
Let us know in the comments!
(Image created by the author)
Increasingly irrelevant huckster Glenn Beck is outraged again. This time because students in a Texas Spanish class were forced to recite actual Spanish for an assignment about the Mexican War of Independence. Clearly, Achieve Early College High School in McAllen, Texas wants the terrorists to win. Continue reading
I have a really bad habit of using a lot of slang and swearing. If you talk to me in a non-professional setting, I curse like a motherfucking sailor. When I spend a lot of time around people, I pick up their slang terms really quickly. So it’s amusing to me to sometimes stop and think about some of the weird expressions I start using. Continue reading