Monthly Archives: June 2014

Censoring the ‘G-word’

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Morana Lukač

Within the political correctness (PC) movements, many words addressing discrimination ended up on the banned list throughout the years. However, the PC vocabulary has a number of opponents as well, who rightfully claim that the PC movement is occasionally used … Continue reading →

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What’s happening to punctuation?

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Ingrid Tieken

Going up to London for the day yesterday, we took the train to London King’s Cross. Not surprisingly (we all know what’s been happening to the apostrophe) the announcement on the train didn’t show the apostrophe. But if punctuation marks are … Continue reading →

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Advertising the Symposium in Cambridge

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Ingrid Tieken
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Next generation of prescriptivists?

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Carmen Ebner

“I am a pedant. There is no question about it. Everyone I know would agree, and I accept and embrace it. I have no problem with being called a nerd, or a geek, or any synonyms of these words.” These … Continue reading →

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Hey, you guys!

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Ingrid Tieken

Below follows Cristina Cumpanasoiu’s second blogpost: Having originated in the U.S., the earliest instance of the noun guy in the sense of “man, fellow” according to the Oxford English Dictionary dates back to 1847 when Lord Chief Baron in Swell’s Night Guide said “I … Continue reading →

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Parasitic plants and buttons: on language imagery

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Ingrid Tieken

Marten van der Meulen‘s second blog post is about imagery and usage. Writing a usage guide is hard work, not in the least because the subject matter can be dry like a desert. Who but the most hardened language pundits will … Continue reading →

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Beware, the World Cup is coming

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Ingrid Tieken

Yes, there is futebol even on this blog! Read Jan van den Berg‘s second post, and let us have your comments, for all languages! Today, 12 June 2014 – the start of the World Cup. An exciting time for many. … Continue reading →

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What makes a usage guide? (part 2)

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Robin Straaijer

A little over a month ago, I posted a survey on this blog, asking you which genres you think usage guides are most closely related to: dictionaries, spelling/punctuation guides, descriptive grammars, popular writing on language, handbooks on writing or style guides. It appears … Continue reading →

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