Thou Shalt Not Be Colloquial: why the King James Bible endures (New York Times) Sadat Shami: “Awesome overview of the New York Times’ R&D Lab’s Project Cascade – a tool to explore the life stories in social spaces” (Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard) @StartupJesus: “Googling ‘Torture + Friday’ used to return hits about Good Friday, …
Category Archives: Language
Twitter highlights: April 17–23, 2011
Sadat Shami: “Giving up tenure… and getting happiness in return? Reflections from someone who did” (The Scientist via Nick Diakopoulos) I think I’ll get a standing desk (New York Times) Jeffrey Bigham: “How languages may have diffused from Africa, modeling phonemes” (New York Times) Boris Smus: “Allow me to explain sorting algorithms through interpretive dance” …
Bizarre misuse of languages
You may have heard of Engrish.com, which showcases the bizarre ways English is often used to “look cool” in Japan and China. Well, two can play that game: Tian Tang was inspired by Engrish to set up Hanzi Smatter, which is dedicated to the bizarre ways Chinese characters are used to look cool in Western …
Fun with English
In English, word order is really important. Consider the following: I don't really like Celine Dion. I really don't like Celine Dion. Personally, I agree with the latter. (Substituting "Michael Bolton" doesn't change this.)
Turin or Torino?
Are the Winter Olympics being held in Turin or Torino? Yes. Different media outlets are using different conventions: the Chronicle says “Turin,” while NBC and CBS Radio say “Torino.” I find “Torino” to be a little jarring. We don’t usually use the local name for a city if it has a different English name: we …
Asia trip reactions: Language
Even though the Japanese are polite and want to help you, it can be hard to communicate with them because their English is quite bad. Now, I don’t expect the entire country to be fluent in a foreign language. But, for example, Yodobashi Camera is a gigantic Japanese electronics store that makes Fry’s Electronics look …
Chinese spreads in classrooms
New York Times: Classes in Chinese Grow as the Language Rides a Wave of Popularity With encouragement from the Chinese and American governments, schools across the United States are expanding their language offerings to include Chinese, the world’s most spoken tongue, not to mention one of its most difficult to learn.
A few books I’ve been reading
Nothing deep here, just some stuff that interests me: The Golden Ratio: The Story of Φ, the World’s Most Astonishing Number by Mario Livio. An entertaining account of the golden ratio, the author spends some time deflating the myths surrounding it, and then talks about its true significance and beauty. Language Visible (hardcover), aka Letter …
The Meaning of Lah
I don’t remember how I came across this, but… Singaporean English, or “Singlish,” has various particles derived from Chinese that are sprinkled throughout conversation, like, “You see my husband’s not at home lah,” or “There’s something here for everyone lah.” Even many Singaporeans can’t explain when they use it, but Mr Brown makes a valiant …