Author Archives: brinton

Linguist John McWhorter argues in his TED talk that LOL is no longer used in its original meaning “laugh(ing) out loud”, but has come to be a marker of empathy with the hearer (used in contexts that are not particularly … Continue reading →

Read Dennis Baron’s report on language change doubters (note date!) http://illinois.edu/blog/view/25  

The British comedians Armstrong and Miller have a wonderfully funny series of skits involving RAF soldiers in WWII speaking like 21st century British teenagers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwNQf08Kxsw

Listen to and read about Sali Tagliamonte’s research on Toronto English. Tagliamonte is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Toronto who has been collecting sociolinguistic data on Toronto and more rural Ontario English: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/03/07/like_whatever_eh_u_of_t_prof_tracks _evolution_of_canadian_english_across_generations.html  

The last native speaker of the Celtic language Manx, spoken on the Isle of Man, died in 1974 and the language was declared extinct. Now there is a primary school teaching Manx, a radio program in Manx, and even a … Continue reading →

Jane Austen was a frequent user of the “epicene they” decried by prescriptive grammarians. Henry Churchill has compiled a list of these and provides a short discussion of this linguistic “error”: http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/austheir.html

Did you ever wonder about the meaning of this expression? Here’s a discussion in the New York Times: http://nyti.ms/V4BUQr  

Professor Avuncular Feldspar, aka Ari Hoptman (of Verner’s Law fame and the grammatical analysis of Copacabana — see earlier posts) gives a hilarious account of the Norman Conquest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7-nIFIKM7c  

Professor Jan Terje Faarlund argues that Modern English actually derives from the language of the Scandinavians in the Danelaw area, not from Old English, and thus is  a North Germanic language. Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121127094111.htm#.UL-248eoWbg.email  

In Missouri, where there is a hotly contested Senate race, the pronunciation of the name of the state is also in dispute. Should one say “Missouree” (with final [i]) or “Missouruh” (with final [ə]) — or one or the other … Continue reading →