http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/?utm_source=rss Lexicographers Talk About Language Copyright 2009, Thinkmap Inc. All Rights Reserved. en Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/images/common/logo_on_white.gif http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/?utm_source=rss Search for a word in the Visual Thesaurus word http://www.visualthesaurus.com Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1898?utm_source=rss We've been talking to University of Indiana professor Michael Adams about his new book, Slang: The People's Poetry (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195314638?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0195314638). Last week, in part one (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1890/) of our interview, he explained how slang balances the social ("fitting in") with the aesthetic ("standing out"). Now in part two, Adams considers what happens when slang gets enshrined in dictionaries, and how we're only now appreciating the endless variety of slang forms. Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1898 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1890?utm_source=rss In his new book, Slang: The People's Poetry, Indiana University English professor Michael Adams tackles the tough question: what is the nature of slang? Adams, also the author of Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon, looks beyond dictionary definitions of slang to examine the fascinating interplay of social and aesthetic qualities in "the poetry of everyday speech." In this first of a two-part interview, Adams explains how the linguistic practice of slang balances the social and the aesthetic, and considers what directions slang might take in the future. Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1890 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1827?utm_source=rss Mayor Richard M. Daley, Jr., has proclaimed today, William Shakespeare's 445th birthday, Talk Like Shakespeare Day. (Or should that read, "Mayor Richard II hath proclaimed"?) But as University of Illinois linguist Dennis Baron (https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/debaron/www/) points out, we don't actually know how Shakespeare talked. Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1827 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1816?utm_source=rss While most of us view April 15th as the day the tax man cometh (and our income goeth), it marked a more auspicious occasion in 1755. That was the day Samuel Johnson published his massive two-volume, 42,773-word dictionary of the English language. Mim Harrison, founding editor of Levenger Press, takes a look back. Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1816 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1805?utm_source=rss Strunk and White's slender yet influential guidebook The Elements of Style (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0205632645?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0205632645) turns 50 this month. Here, University of Illinois linguist Dennis Baron (https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/debaron/www/) casts a critical eye on some of the book's most famous pronouncements. Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1805 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1768?utm_source=rss On the 133rd birthday of the telephone, Dennis Baron (https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/debaron/www/) ponders how Alexander Graham Bell's invention forever changed the way we communicate — and brought the word "hello" into common usage. Baron is professor of English and linguistics at the University of Illinois and writes regularly on linguistic issues at The Web of Language (http://illinois.edu/blog/view?blogId=25). Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1768 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1728?utm_source=rss The American Dialect Society (http://www.americandialect.org/index.php/amerdial/word_of_the_decade_nominations_open_for_2000_2009/) wants to know what you think the Word of the Decade is. Which word best sums up the years from 2000 to 2009? Read the call for nominations below. Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1728 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1725?utm_source=rss Last week (http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1719/) we interviewed the irrepressible Roy Blount, Jr. about his latest book, Alphabet Juice (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374103690?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0374103690), an A-to-Z compendium of his musings on the glory of the English language. In this excerpt from the book's opening chapter, Blount considers the scholarly theory of the arbitrary relation between words and meanings, to which he firmly responds: "Arbitrary, schmarbitrary." Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1725 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1719?utm_source=rss Recently we had the opportunity to talk to Roy Blount, Jr. (http://www.royblountjr.com/) about his entertaining new book Alphabet Juice (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374103690?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0374103690), subtitled "The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts; With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory." In this idiosyncratic dictionary, Blount distills a lifelong love affair with the English language into pithy observations on everything from amazing ("Can't anybody say 'wonderful' or 'splendid' or even 'far-out' anymore?") to zoology ("Pronounced zo-ology. Not zoo-ology. Look at the letters. Count the o's"). Blount told us about some of his inspirations for the book and explained how language can be loose without being imprecise. Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1719 Behind the Dictionary http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1640?utm_source=rss Fred R. Shapiro, the editor of The Yale Book of Quotations (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300107986?ie=UTF8&tag=thevisualthes-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0300107986), is constantly on the lookout for new quotations that might make the cut for the next edition of his authoritative (and entertaining) quotation dictionary. Below, find out what he thinks are the top ten quotations of 2008. Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/1640