LinguisticsThe Language of the FutureA fascinating look at how English is mutating as it becomes the world's lingua franca. The InterpreterHas a remote Amazonian tribe upended our understanding of language? Vowel MovementHow Americans near the Great Lakes are radically changing the sound of English. Who decides what words meanBound by rules, yet constantly changing, language might be the ultimate self-regulating system, with nobody in charge. How I learned a language in 22 hours by Joshua FoerHow a new App could help you learn a language in a day. The Crayola-fication of the World by Aatish BhatiaNaming things can change the way we perceive them. Say No MoreLinguists now estimate that half of the more than 6,000 languages currently spoken in the world will become extinct by the end of this century. Politics and the English LanguageGeorge Orwell's analysis of the political and economic causes of "the decline of language." Utopian for BeginnersAn amateur linguist loses control of the language he invented. English, loanword champion of the world!It's the number-one lender of words to other languages—but not everyone wants to borrow them. Internet LinguisticsA Defense of Internet Linguistics by Tia BaheriOnce I noticed the effects of the Internet on language use around me once, I noticed it all the time. The Grammar of Doge. Wow.What is it? How do you even pronounce it? Summoning Benedict CumberbatchThe subconscious patterns that emerge from the way people use language. English Has a New Preposition, BecauseLinguists are recognizing the delightful evolution of the word "because." |
LexicographyTense Present by David Foster WallaceIn one of his finest essays, DFW reviews a dictionary of English usage, tackling everything from democracy and free will to racism in academia along the way. False Fronts in the Language Wars by Steven PinkerOn bogus linguistic controversies. Cyber-Neologoliferation by James GleickA guided tour through the strange world of the lexicographer. Deaf LanguageA Linguistic Big Bang by Lawrence OsborneFor the first time in history, scholars are witnessing the birth of a language, a complex sign system being created by deaf children in Nicaragua. Seeing at the Speed of Sound by Rachel KolbSurrounded by hearing people all the time, my only option has been to adapt, and lipreading is the skill that I have practiced most. Deafness as culture by Edward DolnickWhy some deaf activists resist being integrated into the hearing world, preferring to use sign language Books on LanguageThe Language Instinct by Steven PinkerA lucid primer on the fascinating science of linguistics which accessibly explains the complex origins and psychology of language The Story Of English by Robert McCrumA comprehensive history of the world's lingua franca, in all its forms. Websites on LanguageThe Electric TypewriterEssays about Words and Writing Links on Language and LinguisticsThe online encyclopedia of writing systems and languages.
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