That was literally awesome

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Carmen Ebner

All things come to an end. No matter how hard we try, but ultimately we cannot prevent them from disappearing or not fitting our needs anymore. Take, for example, shoes. As a kid I had awesome shoes with blinking lights on the soles and no matter how hard I tried, I could not squeeze my feet into them. I simply outgrew them.

Awesome, another example. According to the OED awesome was initially used to express “inspirational awe”, being “full of awe”, weird or dreadful. Sadly, I have to acknowledge that awesome  in this sense no longer exists. It seems as if we have outgrown awesome. However, awesome is not dead, it is everywhere. It almost has become the new cool or okay. Ordering a simple black coffee in the UK can lead to an approving awesome. Agreeing on plans for the weekend is awesome. Telling your friend that they are awesome is awesome. If you are left wondering why that is so awesome, then you might find this obituary hilarious, yet invigorating.

On a side note: Even though I like the old-fashioned and extinct meaning of awesome, I have to mention that my shoes were extraordinary, outstanding, remarkable and stunning.

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Britishisms (try pronouncing this!)

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Ingrid Tieken

One of our readers alerted us this morning to an article in the online BBC News Magazine called “Britishisms and the Britishisation of American English“.

She commented: “Isn’t it interesting how it’s the opposite to what I looked at in my PhD thesis  re Americanisms invading BBC language.  I’m also fascinated to see (according to the story) how ‘go missing’ is pushing out ‘disappear’ in US English, just as it appears to have done in British language.”

Thanks for this, Anya!  I’m sure you’d be interested (like us!) to have people’s comments on the article. Britishisms (aarrgghhh!) and Americanisms are very relevant to our research. (How about pronouncing  or even spelling “Britishisation “! And how about this: neither Britishisms nor Britishisation are in the OED. Briticisation is, but spelled with a <z>.)

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English spelling – A nightmare?

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Carmen Ebner

English spelling is amazing! I might be one of the few who think that way but given my natural curiosity poems such as The English Lesson by Richard Krogh are just my cup of tea. Having learned English as a Foreign Language myself, my attitude towards English spelling and pronunciation has not always been that positive. Believe me, I have stumbled over words such as plough and enough and twisted my tongue trying to pronounce words such as miscellaneous or onomatopoeia. Nevertheless, I think it is fascinating that the spelling of English words does not correspond with their actual pronunciation.

As fascinating as English spelling and pronunciation can be, it entails immense problems for its speakers and learners. The English Spelling Society states that illiteracy and dyslexia are widely spread among English native speakers. Gina Cooke explains in this illustrative video how to make sense of English spelling. Take a look and have a go with the poem The English Lesson!

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European Day of Languages

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Robin Straaijer

It’s the 26th of September and that means that it’s the European Day of Languages. On the eve of the closing event of the “European Year of Languages” (2001) the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe declared a “European Day of Languages” to be celebrated each year.

Learning other peoples’ languages is a way of helping us to understand each other better and overcome our cultural differences. Language skills are a necessity and a right for EVERYONE – that is one of the main messages of the European Day of Languages. (website European Day of Languages)

The European Commission advocates plurilinguism, and wants people to develop some degree of proficiency in two languages or more to be able to play their full part in democratic citizenship in Europe.

This European Day of Languages also raises questions about the role of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in Europe; as well as the teaching of European languages in the UK, as in this article in the Guardian.

Here at Leiden University, there seems to be a tendency to use English, even when another language, such as Dutch or German, would do just as well. How often do you find yourself speaking English when there’s actually no pressing need for it? What is the reason for using English (as a lingua franca)?

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A healthy or healthful debate

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Carmen Ebner

Autumn has arrived and the battle against catching colds has officially begun. The recent weather with its cold winds and heavy rain showers makes it even more difficult to fight off colds. Vitamins and staying dry seem to be the only defense mechanisms which should guarantee getting through autumn and winter without sneezing and coughing. What should do the trick is to eat healthy food and lead a healthy lifestyle. (Check out Ana’s suggestions on http://bananasanas.wordpress.com/) But wait a minute. Healthy? Or is it healthful?

While browsing the web for current usage problems, I came across various blog entries and articles about the difference between healthy and healthful. To be completely honest, I am not even sure whether I have ever used the word healthful before, but apparently I have been continuously misusing healthy according to prescriptivists’ views.

The Merriam Webster Dictionary explains the difference.

If something is beneficial for your health, it is healthful. Thus, it would mean that you are eating healthful, rather than healthy food.

Healthy on the other hand means that something or someone is enjoying good health. So unless your vegetables have not led a healthful lifestyle, they cannot be considered healthy. Do you get the difference?

From a historical perspective, the OED shows that healthful was used before healthy, but its use became already rare in the 16th century. Interestingly, the use of healthy in the sense of healthful has been accepted in the past. Even the Merriam Webster Dictionary states that healthful and healthy can be used synonymously. So why then revive the strict distinction between healthy and healthful? It is time for a healthy or healthful debate.

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Punctuation Party

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Cynthia Lange

‘Do think twice; it’s not alright.’ is the caption which accompanies this image from http://www.apostrophecatastrophes.com/

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 suggestions on ways to celebrate, photos of signs containing ‘annoying punctuation gaffes,’ and – my personal favorite – letters from visitors to the site. National Punctuation Day even has an official meat loaf recipe!

Those punctuation celebrants looking for a vegetarian option may consider participating in the punctuation challenge issued by The New Yorker. You can send your answers via tweet to #tnyquestion until Monday morning in New York (which is -5 hours UTC/GMT).

Readers of this blog may recall previous posts on official language-related days such as National Grammar Day (4 March) or the recent International Talk Like a Pirate Day (19 September). We are currently compiling a language calendar which already includes 15 dates and at least 9 different languages. In fact, it includes all languages if we consider International Mother Tongue Day (21 February) in its true sense. This calendar is a product of information provided by readers of this blog. Therefore, thank you, and please continue to write us with your tips on official language days as well as other items which may be of interest to the project.

Meanwhile, this evening I’m gearing up for tomorrow’s joyful and random celebration of language and its accoutrements with this wonderful video in which Victor Borge and Dean Martin sing with phonetic punctuations marks. Enjoy.

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Could of/should of and Canadian English

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Ingrid Tieken

Could of/should of are older than we think: elsewhere in this blog I reported on their occurrence already in 18th-century English. It is also the feature in the Attitudes Survey that calls for the most comments, mostly negative (very negative!) but sometimes also neutral. In the Survey, I focus – for this study anyway – on British and American English only, but that doesn’t mean we are not interested in other varieties. We are already slowly branching out actually, as yesterday’s Database Launch demonstrated.

Here is an instance from Canadian English, from Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin which I’m reading, a somewhat different one:

“You can tell by the look of her,” said Reenie. “Anyway if she’d had any offer at all, even if the man had three heads and a tail, she’d of grabbed him quick as a snake” (p. 158).

Reenie is the family’s housekeeper, but Atwood doesn’t normally make her use non-standard grammar like this, so it stood out. Another passage that stood out, and for similar reasons, is the following. The speaker is Walter, the protagonist’s driver and general handyman, and Reenie’s son-in-law:

“I would of took the pickup,” he said, “built like a brick shithouse, give the buggers something to think about before ramming into me. Only there’s a few strings gone, so it’s not  such a smooth ride.”

Any other instances, British, American, Canadian, or any other English variety, modern or historical?

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Abstracts are coming in

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Ingrid Tieken

We are happy to announce a fourth plenary speaker for the conference on Prescription and Tradition that will be held in Leiden in June next year: Felix Ameka, from the University of Leiden, and he will speak on the topic of prescription and multilingual settings in West Africa.

Also, abstracts are already coming in! Full instructions on how to do so are now available from the LUCL website.

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Learning English the Warrell Way

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Ingrid Tieken

This image is of a cover of a little booklet – unpaginated, but containing 12 pages – which the Bridging the Unbridgeable project was given yesterday.

Brief though it is, it is nevertheless relevant for our research, as it includes a chapter (lesson 12) called “Finding your faults”, with items like “It’s for its“, “Too Many Ands” and, in another chapter, “Have some Fun with Only“.

But who was John Warrell? He doesn’t appear to have been famous enough to merit a place in the ODNB.

The booklet was published in Mansfield in the UK and cost 9 pence (or 10d. post free), or the equivalent of about £1.25 in the 1930s according to the National Archives Currency Converter, if that was when it was published.

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Fun with Codification

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Cynthia Lange

Image from David Russinoff’s site: http://www.russinoff.com/

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 in all sorts of ways. I’ve noticed that, in spite of the sometimes very different approaches to language taken by their author(s), these usage guides share at least two characteristics. First, they are informative; and second, they crack me up. For some excellent examples of humor in H.W. Fowler’s Modern English Usage, check out freelance copy editor and guest blogger Paul Bennett’s previous post, Fowler is Funny.

Image from do512blog.wordpress.com/

Wry wit is a difficult thing to quantify. But the usage guide database will no doubt provide intriguing and surprising information on myriad topics – perhaps including this one. Meanwhile, it seemed appropriate to blog about the joy of codification today as it is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. If you would like to join the nautical fun, this site contains some ideas about ways to celebrate. There is also advice on various aspects of Pirate usage (also available in German and Dutch) and links which deal with Pirate phonetics, grammar, vocabulary, and politeness.

The idea of playfulness with regard to language and codification also reminded me of the folks at The Bureau Chiefs. They created the amusing Twitter handle Fake AP Stylebook which I can recommend to lovers of (occasionally irreverent) language and laughs.

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