6 March, 2010 ( Read more... )

11 February, 2010 ( Read more... )

On the subway ride home from the concert tonight, right in front of me there began a conversation in honest to goodness ebonics. It took me verily by surprise; I didn't think anyone actually spoke like that anymore. At one point, I swear, I heard the phrase "Straight up, dawg," said with utmost sincerity. It freaked me out. But then I was like, ( Read more... )

18 January, 2010

I woke up to a message from eel_grass asking after my favourite oxymoron. She provided hers as "picnic table", which falls into the category of perceived oxymora, as the terms are not by definition contradictory, though the table does imply formality and indoorness. Further research shows that the oxymoron was originally a device of Greek ( Read more... )

14 January, 2010

I had a feisty debate today with E.M. about the "singular they". As a linguistic purist, I am against it, on the grounds that the resulting number disagreements are too much to overlook. She, reasonably, was for it, on the grounds that it is the best solution to the unacceptable "universal he". Whereas I agree that the long- ( Read more... )

3 January, 2010 ( Read more... )