http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/?utm_source=rss A Monthly Column for Word Lovers Copyright 2012, Thinkmap Inc. All Rights Reserved. en Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/images/common/logo_on_white.gif http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/?utm_source=rss Language Lounge http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/3117?utm_source=rss In this month's Language Lounge, we explore one of the most curious corners of contemporary consumer culture: the litany of side effects in commercials for prescription drugs, in which sometimes horrifying conditions are narrated over pleasing images. Warning: May cause unsettling contemplation. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/3117 Language Lounge http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/3084?utm_source=rss A recent New York Times article reports that the Philippines has now overtaken India as the hub of the outsourced call center. The article contains a telling characterization of the Philippines as "a former United States colony that has a large population of young people who speak lightly accented English and, unlike many Indians, are steeped in American culture." Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/3084 Language Lounge http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/3051?utm_source=rss The Internet makes it possible to publish dictionaries containing entries of any length, in any format, that are not necessarily subject to traditional rules or conventions. So it's fair to ask: is abandoning the traditional short-form definition, along with the paper it was once printed on, a case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater? Or is it a good opportunity to reinvent lexicography? Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/3051 Language Lounge http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/3020?utm_source=rss Words step outside of their borders all the time; and once they are in new territory, they rarely follow the rules that bound them in their original context. As time passes, they can become complete strangers to their original users, and may even be seen as betraying them. Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/3020 Language Lounge http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2990?utm_source=rss The idea of the "elevator talk" is that you only have the duration of an elevator ride to get your idea across, so you have to strip it to its essentials. Starting long before this idea came along, however, organizations and institutions have striven to encapsulate their essence even more succinctly, in a short form of expression called a "motto." Mon, 03 Oct 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2990 Language Lounge http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2962?utm_source=rss If we divide up the short list of English parts of speech according to status, adjectives are at the top of the B-list. The elites, nouns and verbs, seem to get everyone's attention because without them, sentences wouldn't have a job. Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2962 Language Lounge http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2930?utm_source=rss English is not long on productive verb-creating affixes — things you can tack onto or tuck into words at will to make entirely new verbs and get away with it — so it's worth celebrating one of the few that have a proven track record: the suffix -ize. -Ize allows you to neologize when the occasion calls for it, in a way that very few other English affixes do. Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2930 Language Lounge http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2895?utm_source=rss The 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible does not pass without notice in the English-speaking world. David Crystal's book on the subject has received widespread media attention. The particular ways in which the famous translation has influenced the course of English are fascinating and well-documented by Crystal and others; this month, we'll look at some of the other features that give the KJV its enduring appeal. Fri, 01 Jul 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2895 Language Lounge http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2866?utm_source=rss The idea that we all have a soul mate out there somewhere is a popular cultural meme. Words seem to have soul mates as well, judging by the way that they mate for life. But such word unions are not always marked with ceremony, the way human ones are, and this makes some of the hookups a bit difficult to document and validate. Wed, 01 Jun 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2866 Language Lounge http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2836?utm_source=rss It's a rare newscast today, in any language, that does not include coverage of unrest in one or more countries of the Middle East, where people seem to have reached the limit of their patience with and tolerance of repressive, nonrepresentative governments. Nearly all of the countries in upheaval now are Arabic-speaking countries. So how much of this tremendous upheaval do we really "get"? Mon, 02 May 2011 04:00:00 UTC http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/ll/2836