2011-11-08
post/12488762344
An Icelandic pangram, which translated means “If a new axe were here, thieves would feel increasing deterrence and punishment.” Seems apt, somehow.
(This would also make a reasonably good test phrase for Unicode storage.) (Edit: ssp notes that it wouldn’t, since most of that fits in Latin 1. Oops.)
2011-06-13
post/6499994331
Carl Muckenhoupt in a comment on See Different, a MetaFilter thread about alternative maps.
I’d never thought about the word. This was a little explanation bomb going off in my head.
2011-02-14
post/3297895137
From the British Council’s Vimeo account, comes this vintage gem. Lovely work on the transitions:
History of the English Language acts as an excellent layman’s introduction to the origins of one of the most common languages on the planet, demonstrating how dialect changes over time, and presenting England as being multicultural right down to its roots.
2010-12-19
post/2369963023
A Google Books chart showing the decline of the medial S, the ſ you see in old inscriptions. Chart via Robin Sloan. Chart concept by Ben Schmidt. Seen in Rest In Peace, Medial S by Frank Chimero.
See also: Congrefs, by Mark Wunch, which restores the long S (via).
Previously: Go About Your Buſineſs. (See also.)
2010-08-26
Amazing. Fantastic. Wonderful.
There’s a word I’m desperately trying not to use. That word is “Awesome”.
I don’t know how much of it is the reflexive use it seems to have on the internet, and how much is English snobbery, but I really don’t like using the word. I’m pedantic enough to think that something described with it should inspire a sense of awe, rather than just being momentarily amusing or impressive.
Also, it’s not as if (British?) English is lacking in synonyms. The title of this post contains three I thought of without trouble, and I’m sure with a bit more effort I could come up with a few more.
I suppose this is a plea to help with my self-policing. If you catch me saying That Word, and I don’t notice myself (usually I do, and mumble a very short version of this post) then feel free to give me a stern look. Thanks.
2010-03-21
post/463017807
A map from German dialects and migration: Sprechen Sie Deutsch? in The Economist:
FEW Germans now say Appel rather than Apfel (apple) or maken instead of machen (to make). The north German dialects that use such variants are mostly dead or dying. But the cultural differences that they reflect still govern behaviour today, says a paper from the Institute for the Study of Labour, in Bonn.
2010-01-03
post/314667069
2008-03-11
post/28554711
We need an icon for the English language. People tend to use the British flag, because nobody outside England recognises the St George’s Cross, but that confuses Americans, who are the largest single English-speaking population in the world. (It probably also annoys Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and so on.)
So, the English language needs an icon. The only problem is, I have no bloody idea what it should be.
