The #language of #pamphleteering made #SocialMedia trolls look tame

I've posted before on the UK's ongoing monolingualism & its impact on the (once trumpeted) attempts to promote a 'Global Britain'.... as we know, there has been reductions in funding & the time to teach languages in the school curriculum.

Now while there are other routes to language learning, nonetheless the striking reduction of A-level entries for modern languages (with the exception of Spanish) is a clear example of the progressive reduction of language learning.

As Jamie Shields argues, self-identifiying is an important aspect of disabled people's autonomy:

'If someone chooses “Disabled person” or “person with a Disability,” “autistic” or “person on the spectrum,” “blind” or “person with sight loss”, that’s theirs. Not yours, but theirs....

We don’t need more debates about which words are “right.” We need more respect for each individual’s right to choose'

#disability #identity #language

h/t LinkedIn

Luxembourgish learning: Language basics 15 – An overview of pronouns https://today.rtl.lu/luxembourg-insider/language/a/1935173.html #Luxemburg #Lux #learn #language

BLUE SKIN. A person begotten on a black woman by a white man. One of the blue squadron; any one having a cross of the black breed, or, as it is termed, a lick of the tar brush.

A selection from Francis Grose’s “Dictionary Of The Vulgar Tongue” (1785)

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#books #literature #dictionaries #history #society #language #slang @histodons

"Gotten" is a perfectly acceptable English word, as the past participle of get.

I get.
I got.
I have got OR I have gotten.

And yet in many instances "gotten" really clangs for my ear. Perhaps because the pattern of emphasis is a trochee not an iamb, so it often throws off the rhythm of a line in an awkward way.

A usage note, for those interested, & to ward off langsplaining:

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/get#Usage_notes

Consider the word "mellifluous" for a moment.

The "melli-" part of the word means "honey". (It shows up in the name Melissa, which means "honey bee", and the term "diabetes mellitus", which you can look up if you want the medical details.) The "-fluous" part means "flowing". Compare the words "flux" and "fluent".

So "mellifluous" means flowing like honey. How cool is that?!

Oldie but Goodie Dept
Still fascinates.
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Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a wlohe. That'll fcuk the splelchekcer!

Do we have #language nerds here?

The highlighted text in the screenshot really threw me out of the story. Would the natural way of talking not be to say "Just send them a text." ( or even "Just send him a text."..)?

Hello from Laos! #HelloWorld #Laos #language #linguistics

Fun podcast, but I love reading A Way with Words at https://waywordradio.org/mox-nix/
#WordOrigins #Language

...Baby Birding, Airsipping...Water-Drinking...

'...California...to birdie means “to drink from a bottle without touching it with...lips.”...this germ-avoidant act is...called airsipping, airing, baby birding. In...UK, you might sky a drink or air it...also bluetooth a beverage. The French equivalent is boire en wifi or “to drink in wifi mode,” that is, “drink without direct contact'

If the one thing #AI accomplishes is to invaliditate *broad* standardized testing, it's at least not all bad.

Teachers must teach what *this specific class* needs.

PS: Also, now, we need to also teach how to use LLMs well, and how to participate in creating LLMs that serve us.

LLMs are an integral aspect of #language now.

Our brains always used to confabulate bullshit. Now that function is external. Confabulation is an inherent aspect of the human-informatic system that is language.

DUMB-FOUNDED. Silenced, also soundly beaten.

A selection from Francis Grose’s “Dictionary Of The Vulgar Tongue” (1785)

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#books #literature #dictionaries #history #society #language #slang @histodons

Take away our language and we will forget who we are: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and the language of conquest https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/aug/12/ngugi-wa-thiongo-aminatta-forna-decolonisation-language-conquest #NgugiwaThiong'o #Colonialism #Linguistics #Languages #Worldnews #Education #Language #Culture #Science #Africa #Books #Kenya

The sound of "heart beating" in Icelandic!
#language #linguistics #onomatopoeia #maps

Isn't it interesting how taste is used to describe feelings?

Feeling salty refers to being annoyed or irritated.
Bitter means being angry or resentful.
Sour describes a change for the worse, becoming unpleasant.
Sweet refers to something you like or enjoy.
Spicy - well, yeah

How about umami? I think it should describe the feeling of contentment. For example: I am staying in bed and reading, what an umami day!