Category Archives: humanities

Novial

Posted on Thursday, 2026 April 02 by Anton

I recently reread Otto Jespersen’s An International Language (1928) which presents Novial, a new international auxiliary language. (Jespersen had previously taken part in the development of Ido from Esperanto.) I did not love it quite as much as I did … Continue reading →

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a question of boundaries

Posted on Tuesday, 2023 April 25 by Anton

If I were in charge of the partition of India, I’d do it bottom-up. Starting with the smallest practical districts, ask in each one: For each of your neighbors, would you amalgamate? Do the most favored mergers (skipping any that … Continue reading →

Posted in geography, politics | 1 Comment

RDCB

Posted on Thursday, 2023 March 02 by Anton

A generation ago, it was reported that Readers Digest Condensed Books planned an edition of The Bible, provoking obvious jokes that it would cut three Commandments and four Apostles. Now that I’m reading the thing, though, I do see where … Continue reading →

Posted in prose, religion | 1 Comment

qualified peeve

Posted on Wednesday, 2023 February 01 by Anton

Not a week goes by when I don’t read that some trial court has “granted qualified immunity” to some criminal with a badge. That’s inaccurate. The aggressor was granted qualified immunity by the Supreme Court when it invented that doctrine … Continue reading →

Posted in language, law | Leave a comment

my citizenship(s)

Posted on Saturday, 2022 December 31 by Anton

The fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States begins: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. I … Continue reading →

Posted in law, me!me!me! | 1 Comment

adventures in language borrowing

Posted on Monday, 2022 December 26 by Anton

In this episode of College Roomies from Hell!, there appears in otherwise Spanish dialogue (the author is Mexican, I believe) the word Sepa, which would be pronounced like French sais pas (“dunno”), which fits the context.

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concepts that are not quite writing

Posted on Tuesday, 2022 December 13 by Anton

I was thinking about the notion of a brain interface that delivers text to a layer after vision: the user “sees” the letters at their most abstract, but not their graphic details. What would that experience be like? Could it … Continue reading →

Posted in language, technology | Leave a comment