English Language Studies

Here is a thoughtful article about “like”:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/may/15/why-do-people-like-say-like-so-much-in-praise-of-an-underappreciated-word?CMP=share_btn_link

This article makes the — pretty obvious — point that hesitation markers and “fillers” serve an important conversational purpose:

Filler Words and Floor Holders: The Sounds Our Thoughts Make

Here is an informative and interesting article about how dictionaries are written and updated. A new online dictionary of Australian English is expected in 2023.

Here is another article about the use of “they” with singular (or indefinite) reference. Despite some residual resistance, this usage finally seems to have become accepted.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/singular-they-history

The Canadian Oxford Dictionary has not been updated since 2004 and the entire staff of the dictionary at Oxford University Press was laid off in 2008 (and the editor Katherine Barber sadly died last year). This means that any Canadianisms that arose in the last 18 years are not recorded in an exclusively Canadian dictionary:

Canada’s English dictionary hasn’t been updated in almost 2 decades. What does that say about us? | CBC News

However, Sali Tagliamonte of the the University of Toronto is consulting with the OED on Canadians and in the 2020 edition of that dictionary 31 words (mainly from northern Ontario) were added.

A new dictionary is a huge investment of money and labor, but it is sorely needed.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-04287-4.epdf?sharing_token=igH__GmkimaqkEJDFQUBLdRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0PBEMt6aQZuFBqIW4mI9InPLfo2Iq0k1n38cbV7_p9SB0kUSU_29uCEC0GX5vY9_HsmxWN_cUQTAJUnQ7_sDbUJT_uSS8pX2oxGw_6W_xcXsS02qpS69B94YMSAQfd4DLjEcSt5GE8r3kHGOGOtz7GYnGObrb5vdHwPb-Tud5_25g%3D%3D&tracking_referrer=www.bbc.com

The English language lost the distinction between singular and plural addressees about 1700, but this hasn’t prevented speakers from restoring the distinction in various ways. “Y’all” seems to be spreading from the southern US to other parts of the US and even globally:

Why Is Everyone Suddenly Saying ‘Y’All’?

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-59307100

https://public.oed.com/blog/the-oed-october-2021-update/

Debates about terminology involve complex and important issues. Here are two views about the term “BIPOC”:

https://www.virginialawreview.org/articles/why-bipoc-fails/