Category: Linguistics
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Can Your Hands Speak 40 Languages?
I’m researching the French and Indian War for the third book in the Tomahawk and Saber series, and as I thought about the complications of language, I remembered some other research I’d done in the past. Plains Indian Sign Language isn’t particularly applicable to the French and Indian War (though a few of the nations involved, like…
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A Quick Shot for You Grammar Geeks and Word Nerds
Oxford commas, splitting infinitives, impact as a verb … all topics near and dear to my heart. But I won’t expound on them much today because I’m cheek-deep in some other projects. So this is just a quick note for anyone interested in word-nerdery like me that Buzzfeed posted a photo series titled “30 Copy…
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Talking about Sex
There’s been some interesting gender-switching going on. Well, at least in the English language there has been for at least 600 years or so. For those of you who know me, you know I’m pretty into grammar and language history. So I’m excessively excited whenever there’s a new episode of the language podcast Lexicon Valley. And a recent…
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English Spelling, Why You So Weird?
Ever wonder why English spelling is so freakin’ weird and what it means for poor kids trying to learn to read? Here’s your answer, posted this week on The Atlantic: “How Spelling Keeps Kids From Learning.” Here are some of the tidbits from the article, by Luba Vangelova, that caught my eye: English has 205 ways…
Nathanael Green 