Our informal verbalization of verbs.
Tag Archives: English Language
Language Evolves Right Before Our Ears. It’s Very ‘Satisfying.’
How pickleball and A.S.M.R. may have helped the youngs refine our language forward.
In an era of alphabet soup diplomacy, Biden is adding ingredients.
Unsettled times have brought a proliferation of new clusters of various countries, and the acronyms that come with them.
The ‘Hard Yakka’ of Defining Australian English’s Many Quirks
It took a while for Australians to appreciate their linguistic distinctiveness. The editors at the Australian National Dictionary Center work to document it.
The ‘E-Pimps’ of OnlyFans
Clever marketers have figured out how easy it is to simulate online intimacy at scale, ventriloquizing alluring models with cheap, offshore labor.
Blackness and Standard English Can Coexist. Professors, Take Note.
Failing to recognize this underserves Black English speakers.
‘Ten Percent,’ the British Version of ‘Call My Agent!,’ Won’t Be on Netflix
“Call My Agent!,” set at a Parisian talent agency, was a cult favorite during the pandemic. But the English-language adaptation will be on Sundance Now and AMC+.
The War in Ukraine Has Unleashed a New Word
In a creative play on three different languages, Ukrainians identify an enemy: ‘ruscism.’
When You Hear the F-Word, Try Picking Up More Than One Meaning
Some words have multiple parts. Some dirty words say multiple things.
Introducing WordleBot, the Upshot’s Daily Wordle Companion
It will tell you how skillful or lucky you were, and it could help improve your results.
‘Meatspace’? Technology Does Funny Things to Language
Our words reveal a lot about changes in society.
N.Y.’s Push for Weather Alerts in More Languages Highlights Greater Need
The storm hit the city’s immigrant communities hard, and the New York attorney general called this week for severe weather alerts to be sent in more languages. Advocates say deeper changes are needed.
The I.C.U. Patient, and the Family
Exploring the dilemmas involving patients, their families and health care providers in end-of-life care. Also: Quotation marks; calling and driving.
Why Are Other Languages Better at Conveying Feelings Than English?
Words that capture an entire culinary experience or mood — such as “utepils,” in Norwegian — are common in other languages. English has a few such words, too.
Don’t, Like, Overanalyze Language
My hunch is we’re fine using informal wording.
Today’s Faux Pas, Tomorrow’s Comme Il Faut
Why linguists encourage what grammarians won’t.
Your Guide to the New Language of the Office
You can still circle back and touch base. But the vernacular of work life for many has changed just as much as their work has.
Omicron: A Big Deal About Small ‘O’
The Greek letter auditions for a different role in our lexicon.
How do you say ‘Omicron’?
Unlike Alpha, Beta and Delta, the name of the latest known variant is not as straightforward, with some English speakers offering up diverse pronunciations.
The Algorithm That Could Take Us Inside Shakespeare’s Mind
Machine learning programs have recently made huge advances. Stephen Marche tested one against Shakespeare’s collected works, to see if it could help him figure out which of the several versions of Hamlet’s soliloquy was most likely what the playwright intended.
‘Woke’ Went the Way of ‘P.C.’ and ‘Liberal’
Progressives can still fall back on ‘progressive.’
Grandiloquent Words
In the 19th century, the use of grandiloquent, fanciful words was all the rage, which proves that overcomplicating things has always been funny. And is it a uniquely American phenomenon? Some linguists believe so.
Attention, New Englanders: Fluffernutter Is Now a Word
What has prompted Merriam-Webster to add the longstanding term for a mostly regional sandwich to the dictionary?
BIPOC or POC? Equity or Equality? Debating Words on the Left
For those pushing for changes in society on race and other issues, words matter. They can also muddle.
‘Vax’ Is Oxford’s 2021 Word of the Year
Amid an explosion of Covid-related wordplay, the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary crowns “vax.”
Controversial Words You Can Use
The language police have gone too far.
French Language Laws Renew Rift With Quebec’s English Speakers
The government calls the new measure necessary for the survival of French, while critics say it stigmatizes bilingualism and is bad for business.
The Gender-Neutral Pronoun ‘They’ Causes a Stir
Readers argue against the usage of the gender-neutral “they,” but I’m not convinced.
Talking About Race Is Tricky. Here’s One Reason Why.
‘Semantic narrowing’ isn’t exactly a household term, but maybe it should be.
Taking the ‘Shame Part’ Out of Female Anatomy
Anatomists have bid farewell to “pudendum,” but other questionable terms remain.
Gender Pronouns Are Changing. It’s Exhilarating.
Embrace “they” for “he” or “she.” Pronoun history is fluid.
Why Use a Dictionary in the Age of Internet Search?
Dictionaries reward you for paying attention, both to the things you consume and to your own curiosity.
China Increasing Rejects English, and Outside Ideas
A movement against Western influence threatens to close off a nation that succeeded in part by welcoming new ideas.
What Has One Eye and 1,200 Heads? An Old English Riddle, That’s What!
Riddles are as old as the English language and, as Adrienne Raphel explains, can tell us a lot about Anglo-Saxon culture — as long as we are able to solve them.
The Gender Binary in Language Classes
Languages that contain only “he” and “she” pronouns pose problems for communicating about gender identity. Here’s how some language teachers are helping.
The Rise and Fall of ‘ZuckTalk’
So, there’s this oratory style that asks for validation while bulldozing through almost any topic, right?
How ‘Woke’ Became an Insult
On the perils of the euphemism treadmill.
He Is Senegalese and French, With Nothing to Reconcile
David Diop, an International Booker Prize finalist for his novel “At Night All Blood Is Black,” is among the writers whose work is helping France face its history with Africa.
‘Friends Reunion’: How the Sitcom Helps People Learn English
Language teachers say the show is a near-perfect amalgam of easy-to-understand English and real-life scenarios that feel familiar even to people who live worlds away from the West Village.
Katherine Barber, Who Defined Canadian English, Is Dead at 61
As the founding editor of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, she turned to “trashy novels” and parliamentary debates to find Canada’s version of the language.
‘Active Shooter’: How an Obscure Term Became a Shorthand for Violence
This law enforcement jargon has proliferated in recent years on social media and in breaking news reports. While it conjures fears of mass shootings, the term is often used imprecisely. Many reports turn out to be false alarms.
How the N-Word Became Unsayable
The evolution of the slur’s use — and the taboo around it — tells a story about what our culture values.
Why the Meaning of ‘Infrastructure’ Matters So Much
The definition has always depended on what a society is trying to accomplish.
I Have Read Thousands of Résumés and I Have Some Advice
The history of this strange document can tell job-seekers what works and what doesn’t.
This Is Cringe
Why is everyone suddenly so embarrassed for everyone else?
What Are Neopronouns?
Are you a person, place or thing? We have good news.
The Panorama Panini Pandemic
People have a range of nicknames for the pandemic: a panorama, a pandemonium, a “pandemi moore,” a panini. Is humor a useful way to cope with incredibly difficult times?
Tracking the Vocabulary of Sci-Fi, from Aerocar to Zero-Gravity
The new online Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction probes the speculative corners of the lexicographic universe.
With Remote Learning, a 12-Year-Old Knows Her English Is Slipping Away
In New York City, 142,000 children are learning English in school. Online classes are especially challenging for them.
The 20 Phrases That Defined 2020
We picked up a whole new vocabulary this year — some of it words that have been around forever.