Category Archives: Uncategorized

A recent internet meme has suggested that “tag” (as in the game of tag) is an acronym for “touch and go”. In this article, Ben Zimmer discusses this myth and some other fanciful etymologies: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2018/08/that-meme-youre-sharing-is-probably-bogus/566582/ And, by the way, “tip” … Continue reading →

John Mikhail, a Law Professor at Georgetown University Law School, has researched the meaning of the term “emoluments” using dictionaries dating from the time of the framing of the US Constitution, including specifically those that are known to have been … Continue reading →

Geoffrey Pullum expresses a healthy dose of skepticism about Koko’s command of “language”: https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2018/06/27/koko-is-dead-but-the-myth-of-her-linguistic-skills-lives-on/

Perhaps! https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/09/arts/that-syllable-everyone-recognizes.html

If you are an English or Italian speaker, you may say “thank you” more than others, but still omit it in many instances when interlocutors comply with your requests: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/22/arts/23thank-you.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share

Both your inherent speaking style (whether you tolerate silences or not) and gender (yours and the speakers’) may affect how you view interruptions: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/may/18/why-do-people-interrupt-it-depends-on-whom-youre-talking-to

Why is it that some people hear “laurel” and some hear “yanni”? There is a phonological explanation: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/05/dont-rest-on-your-laurels/560483/

Such language loss is possible, but depends on a number of factors, such as age, frequency of use, etc.: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180606-can-you-lose-your-native-language

https://www.npr.org/2018/06/21/622160278/koko-the-gorilla-dies-redrew-the-lines-of-animal-human-communication

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/08/koko_kanzi_and_ape_language_research_criticism_of_working_conditions_and.html