Category Archives: language

the L-word

Posted on Wednesday, 2004 November 10 by Anton

About a decade ago, someone or other wrote in The Nation advocating that the Left reclaim the word populist. I was tempted to send a letter asking whether, in that case, we individualists could have liberal back. The Economist, in … Continue reading →

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mis-checked spelling of the month

Posted on Wednesday, 2004 November 10 by Anton

carob nanotubes

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context counts

Posted on Wednesday, 2004 November 03 by Anton

headline of the week: Warriors lock up young veterans

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a good notation is a good start

Posted on Tuesday, 2004 November 02 by Anton

In keying data from handwritten forms, I’m struck by how badly our digits are designed: there are few pairs for which I haven’t seen an ambiguous case. I do write somewhat defensively. I write ‘9’ with a single stroke, like … Continue reading →

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Vishnu Integrating Analog Computer?

Posted on Saturday, 2004 October 02 by Anton

Mars has a crater named Vishniac. If you’re anything like me, you’re curious about the etymology of such a name: it doesn’t fit the spelling and morphology of any language that comes to mind. Ephraim Vishniac tells all.

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another sort of language blog

Posted on Saturday, 2004 August 28 by Anton

In his blog Literal-Minded, Neal Whitman reports on his toddler’s acquisition of syntax.

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Great English Vowel Shift II

Posted on Saturday, 2004 August 21 by Anton

I am moderator of two lists which received a spam entitled: Nid the chiipaast mads on wab? We gut it! — evidently from a dialect which has lost most of its mid vowels!

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