Archive for the ‘language’ Category
Posted by languageandgrammar on May 1, 2012
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities
I’m happy to report that I’ll be on Wisconsin Public Radio from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. (Eastern time) on Wednesday, joining host Joy Cardin and listeners to discuss language pet peeves. Joy’s show is on the Ideas Network, a 19-station network serving Wisconsin and spilling into neighboring states, such as Minnesota and Illinois.
There is a live streaming option from the link above, and I’ll post the archive link when available.
Speaking of archives, this is the second time that I’ve joined Joy, with the first time being a few years ago after the book first came out. If you’re interested, you can listen to that interview on this archived stream.
It’s a good discussion, as might be expected from an NPR audience.
Posted in grammar, language, writing | Tagged: grammar, language, wisconsin public radio, writing | Leave a Comment »
Posted by languageandgrammar on April 17, 2012
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities
Although it’s often difficult to be (because of the unnecessary violence often intended to injure opponents), I’m a fan of hockey.
The hockey act that resulted in the ridiculous language example I’m about to cite is an unfortunate example of what could be a great sport; however, let us, for the moment, only look at the language use in question: Marian Hossa Was Stretchered Off The Ice After This Brutal Hit From Raffi Torres.
Stretcher is a verb? The word now means “the act of moving someone (presumably into an ambulance) while on a stretcher.”
Call dictionary.com; even they don’t have that verbification (what I called the process of turning nouns into verbs in my book) yet. Call the descriptivists who think that, as long as the meaning is understood, it’s legitimate usage. We have a new verb!
Let’s do a little conjugation of the verb stretcher, at least of the present tense:
- I stretcher
- You stretcher
- He/she/it stretchers
- We stretcher
- The stretcher
You get the idea.
If you want a new word, then simply turn a noun into a verb and you have one. You verbed it.
We certainly wish Marian Hossa the best and hope that hockey takes serious steps to remove the unnecessary violence from the game.
Posted in grammar, language, writing | Tagged: grammar, language, marian hossa, marian hossa injury, nouns used a verbs, raffi torres hit, writing | Leave a Comment »
Posted by languageandgrammar on March 23, 2012
By Paul Yeager, author of Literally, the Best Language Book Ever and Weather Whys: Facts, Myths, and Oddities
That’s right, ladies and gentleman, Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera thinks that what Trayvon Martin was wearing is as much of a factor in his death as the person who pulled the trigger (Zimmerman), proving that while language changes, racism remains the same.
Rivera:
I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies. I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.
In other words, it’s understandable to Rivera that Zimmerman would think that the Skittles-carrying youngster was a danger because anyone wearing a hoodie is a danger. Today’s hoodie is most commonly associated with the urban/African-American culture–one that apparently frightens people like Geraldo. In fact, Rivera was quick to point out that he didn’t think that a Caucasian person wearing a hoodie would be perceived in the same light–he didn’t necessarily advise that the group stop wearing hoodies.
Until we start to hold people responsible for their actions rather than putting blame on stereotypes and racism, nothing but the words used to express racism will change.
Maybe dangerous people tend to eat more Skittles. Maybe we shouldn’t buy that kind of candy in the future if we don’t want to be shot, or at least we should have the understanding that we’re asking for it if we do.
For more, see this DailyKos article.
Posted in language, politics | Tagged: George Zimmerman, Gerald Rivera, hoodies, language, racism, skittles, Trayvon Martin, Trayvon Martin death | 1 Comment »
Posted by languageandgrammar on February 18, 2012
Image from http://cheriquitecontrary.blogspot.com/2011/01/do-you-know-your-apology-language.html
We all make mistakes, but apologizing is always difficult. That difficulty (and because many people apologize when they’re not truly sorry for their actions) is why there are so many conditional apologies issued.
That’s something I’ve talked about before here (I’m Sorry If I Offended Anyone) and in my book (Literally, the Best Language Book Ever).
To review, when you put a condition on the apology, you’re attempting to shift the responsibility from you (the person who did the offensive thing) to the person who was hurt by your actions because it’s now up to them to decide whether they were hurt. Don’t apologize that way.
Apologize the way actress Lisa Chan did after appearing in a political ad that was extremely disrespectful to her own culture:
I am deeply sorry for any pain that the character I portrayed brought to my communities. As a recent college grad who has spent time working to improve communities and empower those without a voice, this role is not in any way representative of who I am. It was absolutely a mistake on my part and one that, over time, I hope can be forgiven. I feel horrible about my participation and I am determined to resolve my actions.
She might not be proud of the ad she participated in (for Republican Pete Hoekstra), but she can be very proud of how she took responsibility for her action.
Posted in language | Tagged: apology, language, lisa chan, pete hoekstra ad, politics, sincere apology | Leave a Comment »
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 »
