Author Archives: Cynthia Lange

Author Spotting

Posted on May 26, 2013

I would like to share my excitement about my most recent book purchase. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s related to the HUGE database of usage guides and usage problems – albeit tangentially. The book is Het Handboek Stijl, which is the current … Continue reading →

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Poetry and Usage Advice

Posted on April 22, 2013

More word-related news on April: it’s also National Poetry Month. Here’s a link to frequently asked questions about National Poetry Month. I’ll provide a quick summary as well. It was founded in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, and … Continue reading →

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April is Bibliotastic

Posted on April 15, 2013

Spring and libraries: what do these things have in common? Besides being beautiful and making life more enjoyable, spring and libraries also share April. This month is National School Library Month in the U.S. Today also kicks off National Library … Continue reading →

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Grammar: Days and Tests

Posted on March 20, 2013

Earlier this month, March fourth to be precise, National Grammar Day was celebrated in the U.S. I like to think was the impetus for many dinners of punctuation-meatloaf (or walnut loaf for the veggie punctuation partiers among us). The day … Continue reading →

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Lexicon Valley: A Most Delightful Dale

Posted on February 4, 2013

For many months now, I’ve been intending to write an epic review of one of my favorite podcasts: Lexicon Valley presented by Slate. Well, this weekend I invoked the muses – otherwise known as Lexicon Valley hosts Mike Vuolo and … Continue reading →

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Punctuation. In Political. Contexts.

Posted on November 8, 2012

There have been many interesting articles about language use related to the 2012 presidential election in the U.S. Some of my favorites include this recent one on the ‘mass-nounification of vote’ by Ben Zimmer and this one on the use … Continue reading →

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Punctuation Party

Posted on September 23, 2012

Friends, put on your punctuation party hats. Tomorrow – Monday 24 September – is National Punctuation Day (in the U.S.) which was founded in 2004 by Jeff Rubin. The official website contains some funny, interesting, and entertaining items. These include … Continue reading →

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Fun with Codification

Posted on September 19, 2012

During the last months, I’ve been assisting in compiling the Bridging the Unbridgeable project’s database of usage guides and usage problems – which will be launched at a lunch lecture this Friday. This has been a wonderful and interesting experience … Continue reading →

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The Art of Usage Guides

Posted on September 12, 2012

This morning, while I was browsing around one of my favorite websites brainpickings.org, I came across an article which mentions the 2005 edition of William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White’s classic The Elements of Style. This edition is illustrated by … Continue reading →

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Grammar Rock

Posted on June 5, 2012

In a single day of reading, copying, pasting, and generally mulling over usage guide entries, grammar songs – such as Conjunction Junction and that one about pronouns – occur to me more often than I care to admit. Although these … Continue reading →

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