Cloudy and Cool Paul Yeager–Huffington Post
Posted by languageandgrammar on February 14, 2012
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities
(Image from 123rf.com)
There’s not that much of a difference from editing text and ensuring that continuity is maintained in a Hollywood production, so I thought we could take a look at some of the Worst Movie Mistakes: Date Night Edition in honor of Valentine’s Day.
I’m sure that’s how St. Valentine, the saint of love, young people, and happy marriages would’ve wanted to be remembered.
Posted in language, off topic | Tagged: hollywood mistakes, movie continuity, st. valentine, valentine's day | Leave a Comment »
Posted by languageandgrammar on February 5, 2012
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities
I know I’m in the minority here, but think about it: Are commercials during the Super Bowl really less annoying than commercials during the rest of the year?
No, of course not. Sure, we’re seeing them for the first time–of many–and advertisers have somehow duped us into thinking that they’re must-see tv, but they’re commercials–plain and simple.
Do what you do normally during commercials–grab a snack, phone a friend, flip a channel, or go to the bathroom. But, please, I’m begging you, don’t make them seem like the show itself.
Posted in language | Tagged: commercials, super bowl, super bowl commercials | Leave a Comment »
Posted by languageandgrammar on January 19, 2012
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities
(Image from TheViitals)
What we say matters.
What we say might not be considered outwardly racist–maybe we think we’re making a joke. Maybe we’re making a statement that seems like a reasonable assessment of the world around us, not a hurtful stereotype. Maybe we think what we’re saying is a fact. Maybe we have no idea what someone experienced in childhood or is experiencing in his/her life right now.
Regardless, what we say matters, and we’re responsible for the hurt we cause in others.
The Microaggressions Project blog is a collection of short stories of people being hurt, made to feel less than, or being ridiculed/laughed at. The individual statements or actions might not seem like much (some do), but when you see them all together, it’s easy to see how easy it is to cause pain in others.
There’s some information on their Facebook page about the purpose of the blog, and I’ll include a passage here:
The project is NOT about showing how ignorant people can be & simply dismissing their ignorance. Instead, it is about showing how these comments create and enforce uncomfortable, violent, and unsafe realities onto people’s workplace, home, school, childhood/adolescence/adulthood, public transportation/space environments.
Posted in language | Tagged: hurtful language, microagressions project, racism | Leave a Comment »
Posted by languageandgrammar on January 3, 2012
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities
It’s estimated that more than half of the world speaks two languages, but in the U.S., it’s roughly 10%. I don’t have any room to talk since I don’t speak another language, but I still found this post interesting: 20 Embarrassing Facts about Foreign Language Learning in the U.S.
I know. I know. The link is from a biased source–someone who provides online education, but it’s still something to think about.
I did pretty well in my Spanish class in high school a few decades ago…maybe I should consider not being a typical self-centered American!
Posted in language | Tagged: language, languages in the US, learning foreign languages | Leave a Comment »
Posted by languageandgrammar on December 8, 2011
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities
Lead and led are two completely different words with completely different meanings, but since the past tense of the verb form of lead is pronounced the same as the noun form of the word lead, confusion runs rampant!!
For more information, read my most recent AIS Writing Tip, Confusing Word Pair: Lead and Led.
Posted in grammar, language, writing | Tagged: confused word pairs, grammar, language, lead/led, lead/led confusion, writing | Leave a Comment »
Posted by languageandgrammar on November 16, 2011
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities
We all make mistakes, but when they’re public and funny, we’re talking about perfect blog material. The above image of the famous USS Starprise Entership is one of the many entries included in the English Fail Blog.
Not surprisingly, not all of the examples in the blog are tasteful, so they might not be appropriate for children or even adults who don’t like off-color humor.
Me? I think they’re funny.
Posted in grammar, humor, language | Tagged: english fail blog, grammar errors, humorous mistakes, language mistakes | Leave a Comment »
Posted by languageandgrammar on October 18, 2011
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities
What if someone who doesn’t like the way in which we make up new words for no reason or change the meaning of existing words as part of superficial trends finds a made-up word that accurately represents his dislike of that process?
Well, if that person is me, he writes a post about it!!
The new “word” is logomisia, and it means, according to the Urban Dictionary, “disgust for certain words or a particular word; a disgust for certain words or for a particular word.”
The word does not seem to appear in regular dictionaries or even in dictionary.com, which seems to embrace any new word or new usage of a word quickly.
Don’t feel bad. We all experience logomisia at some point–even the typical descriptivist who believes that common usage is all that’s needed to change language.
Embrace it, and go ahead–use the new “word.” You know you want to.
For the record, the new (and often useless) word is called a neologism, and the above image is a neologism from plasticbag.org.
Posted in grammar, language, writing | Tagged: grammar, language, logomisia, neologism, new words, writing | Leave a Comment »
Posted by languageandgrammar on October 9, 2011
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities
We have to deal with all kinds of people during our daily lives, so we need to know how to deal with them. Most are easy to communicate with, but it takes special care to communicate with those who are unpleasant or downright nasty.
A syndicated column from Chicago Tribune columnist Alexia Elejald-Ruiz (How to deal with nasty people) might give a few tips.
The two that I think might be most effective are not getting into an argument with the nasty person (I have a rule that I only talk to rational people!) and making the person repeat an unkind statement.
It takes quite a person to insult someone twice in a row.
(Image from demotivationalposters.org)
Posted in language | Tagged: communication, how to deal with nasty people, language | Comments Off
Posted by languageandgrammar on September 30, 2011
Paul Yeager's books
I recently came across a blog that highlights the 20 best books for language lovers, and I was honored to see that my book (Literally, the Best Language Book Ever) made the list!
If you love language, there are many worthwhile books to consider reading, especially number 18!
Posted in language | Tagged: best books for language lovers, grammar, language, language books, literally the best language book ever, paul yeager, writing | Leave a Comment »
Posted by languageandgrammar on September 19, 2011
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities
You know, sometimes I feel especially curmudgeonly (hey kids, get out of the yard!) when I complain about the way people communicate these days, with a short attention span, sloppy grammar, and punctuation influenced by typing on a mobile device the size of postage stamp. It’s all very impersonal and ineffective.
That’s why it makes me feel better when I see a college student who feels that real communication is becoming more shallow, especially when she does such a nice job of saying so.
Her name is Vera Greene, and she writes for Penn State’s Daily Collegian.
Image from Visual Photos
Posted in grammar, language | Tagged: daily collegian, grammar, language, personal communication, shallow communication, vera greene | Leave a Comment »
