West Virginia Dialect Project @wvdialectproject-blog - Tumblr Blog

Shift Happens

From a useful article in today’s Washington Post. Grammarians, take note.

Funny thing about language: Wrong doesn’t necessarily stay wrong. “Error is the engine of language change,” as David Shariatmadari wrote in the Guardian, “and today’s mistake could be tomorrow’s vigorously defended norm.” What’s more, yesterday’s vigorously defended norm can be today’s laughingstock.

allthingslinguistic

☞ *!* / f ɑ l o w f ɚ m ɔ ɹ s ɑ f t l ɪ ŋ g w ɪ s t ɪ k s / **! ☞

appalachian-appreciation-deacti

The 39th Annual Appalachian Studies Association Conference was held March 17-20 at Shepherd University. More than 800 people attended the four-day event,

Walker said that even though the Oxford American Dictionary defines an Affrilachian as an African American living in Appalachia, when he and his colleagues began using the word years ago, it included people who are from many different races - and places - including Hispanic Appalachians, and even Asian Appalachians.

“To us it was about making the invisible visible, or giving voice to a previously muted or silenced voice,” he said.

And giving voice to minority groups in Appalachia - that’s the challenge that Walker said will determine the future of the region.

linguonerd

can we white linguists/philologists stop using the word “exotic”? like. forever. “exotic language” “exotic sound” “exotic vowel” stop. it’s racist and othering and really fucking lazy

lullabyknell

Can I just… talk for a moment… about how much I love how, if you know them well, words don’t have synonyms?

English, for example, is a fantastic disaster. It has so many words for things that are basically the same, and I find there’s few joys in writing like finding the right word for a sentence. Hunting down that peculiar word with particular meaning that fits in seamlessly in a structure, so the story flows on by without any bumps or leaks.

Like how a shout is typically about volume, while a yell carries an angry edge and a holler carries a mocking one. A scream has shrillness, a roar has ferocity, and a screech has outrage.

This is not to say that a yell cannot be happy or a holler cannot be complimentary, or that they cannot share these traits, but they are different words with different connotations. I love choosing the right one for a sentence, not only for its meanings but for how it sounds when read aloud. (Do I want sounds that slide together, peaceful and seamless, or something that jolts the reader with its contrast? Snap!)

I love how many words for human habitats there are. I love how cottage sounds quaint and cabin sounds rustic. I love steadiness of house, the elegance of residence, the stateliness of manor, and tired stubbornness of shack. I love how a dwelling is different to a den.

And I love how none of them can really touch the possessive warmness of all the connotations of home.

Words are great.

webspeak

Recently, UC Berkeley student Khairuldeen Makhzoomi was removed from his flight. The reason: he was speaking Arabic. And this isn’t the first time this has happened. Nor the second. These are…

“What can you do? - Don’t participate in linguistic discrimination. It can be hard to retrain yourself to reduce the impact of negative stereotypes but, especially if you’re in a position of privilege (as I am), it’s literally the least you can do. Don’t make assumptions about people based on their language use. - Stand up for people who may be facing linguistic discrimination. If you see someone being discriminated in in the workplace (like being given lower performance evaluations for having a non-native accent) point out that this is illegal, and back up people who are being discriminated against. - Be patient with non-native speakers. Appreciate that they’ve gone through a lot of effort to learn your language. If possible, try and arrange for an interpreter (for face-to-face communication) or translator (for written communications). Sometimes non-native speakers are more comfortable with reading and writing than speaking; offer to communicate through e-mails or other written correspondence.”

d&d group: *starts a pirates/sea-based campaign*.

me: *has a marine biologist sorcerer character*.

me: I am proficient in fish.

dm: wait, not fish-ing, not taming fish, just 'fish'?

me: yes, that's exactly how academic degrees work. you know a lot about the thing, but you can't do anything with it.

two phd's in the room: *pained sigh*

outerspacekake

Please send me your recommended readings on prescriptivism, language change, and slurs!

I’ve recently discovered that I’m low on resources on these subjects. I’d especially appreciate articles that touch on the intersection of language and race/gender!

Please boost!

ladysparklefists

idk I just love how we Young People Today use ~improper~ punctuation/grammar in actually really defined ways to express tone without having to explicitly state tone like that’s just really fucking cool, like

no = “No,” she said.

no. = "No,” she said sharply.

No = “No,” she stated firmly.

No. = “No,” she snapped.

NO = “No!” she shouted.

noooooo = “No,” she moaned.

no~ = “No,” she said with a drawn-out sing-song.

~no~ = “No,” she drawled sarcastically.

NOOOOO = “No!” she screamed dramatically.

no?! = “No,” she said incredulously.

allthingslinguistic

I’ve been calling this “typographical nuance” and I have a few more to add:

*no* = “No,” she said emphatically.

*nopes on out of here* = “No,” she said of herself in the third person, with a touch of humorous emphasis.

~*~noooo~*~ = “No,” she moaned in stylized pseudo-desperation.

#no = “No,” she added as a side comment.

“no” = “No,” she scare-quoted.

wtf are you kidding no = “No,” she said flatly. “And I can’t believe I have to say this.”

no no No No NO NO NO NO = "No,” she repeated over and over again, growing louder and more emphatic.

nooOOOO = “No,” she said, starting out quietly and turning into a scream.

*no = “Oops, I meant ‘no,’” she corrected, “Sorry for the typo in my previous message.”

mochilunar-universe-deactivated

dailydot

Merriam-Webster savage af

grammaticalityandotherjudgements

Note: this is not a comprehensive guide to conlanging, but a basic overview. Please consult your local conlanger for details

As usual, thanks to @badconlangingideas for telling me all about this and putting up with my myriad of questions

Go back to Part 1 here

drlinguo

Series: Put it in the lexicon

…Some “constructions” for linguists when you make a google search for “linguists are…”

Thanks to “ID” for opening my eyes with this disillusioning fact about how the world see us. We are gay, but hot gays! We are useless, but in high demand!

neurosciencenews

Using Eye Tracking to Study Linguistics

Through the Center for Language Science and the Language and Bilingualism Lab in the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, Cohen is using an eye-tracking device to examine the subtle differences between how English and bilingual speakers process singular and plural nouns.

linguisten

Asuncion, Apr 8 (EFE).- Linguist Shaw N. Gynan, from Western Washington University, has been working with four indigenous women in northern Paraguay’s Rio Apa community to preserve the endangered Guana language.

untitled81945

*Should read Actually, I’m an Adjunct Professor.

lithicc

Fun History Fact: The overwhelming majority of cowboys in the U.S. were Indigenous, Black, and/or Mexican persons. The omnipresent white cowboy is a Hollywood studio concoction meant to uphold the mythology of white masculinity.

howmanymoredays-deactivated2013

Thank you.

myvaginaisanuclearreactor-deact

I will always re-blog this

skywritingg

I think it was high school when i overheard some white girl put on her best semi-disgusted and confused voice and go “why do so many Mexicans dress up like cowboys?” and I had to be the person to tell her.