Easter, which this year falls on April 20, is an important religious holiday for millions of Christians. It's also a major candy holiday, now second only to Halloween in the United States. But there's more to Easter candy than sugar and food dye: there's also some fascinating linguistic and brand history.
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Easter, which this year falls on April 20, is an important religious holiday for millions of Christians. It's also a major candy holiday, now second only to Halloween in the United States. But there's more to Easter candy than sugar and food dye: there's also some fascinating linguistic and brand history.
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The Real News About the Redesigned SAT
April 16, 2014
By Georgia Scurletis
Ever since College Board President David Coleman announced that the redesigned SAT would replace its testing of more obscure words such as mendacious or treacly with the analysis of more frequent, multiple-meaning words in context, educators have been fretting about what this may mean for the study of vocabulary and for the precision of the next generation of American students' English in general.
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Writers Talk About Writing
What Shakespeare Knew About the Rhythms of English
April 16, 2014
One of the things everyone remembers about Shakespeare, whether they spent a few weeks on one play in high school or an entire semester on several plays in college, is that he wrote in iambic pentameter. Some may also have vague recollections about their teacher explaining that iambic pentameter isn't difficult to understand, because English "naturally" falls into its rhythms.
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Whorfianism — the idea that language shapes thought, and each language creates a distinct worldview — is an appealing idea. But there's one problem: Whorfianism, at least dogmatic Whorfianism, is a huge load of bunk, at least according to John McWhorter's new book The Language Hoax: Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language.
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Is the travel industry particularly susceptible to making up words like "bleisure" (combining "business" and "leisure") and "staycation" (for a stay-at-home vacation)? Associated Press travel reporter Beth J. Harpaz investigates — with help from our own Ben Zimmer, who says that such neologisms "come in handy in a business sector where there's often a need to come up with clever marketing spin." Read the AP article here.
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In Hasbro's "Scrabble Word Showdown," fans of the game have been narrowing down candidates for a new word to include the game's soon-to-be-revised official dictionary. Two finalists are left standing: zen (which many Scrabblers have been requesting), and... geocache, the recipient of a big get-out-the-vote effort by fans of the high-tech treasure hunt known as "geocaching." See the latest from Hasbro here, and read Caitlin Dewey's take in the Washington Post here. Update: And the winner is... geocache!
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Strangers in Our Midst: Words We Skip While Reading
April 9, 2014
- 4 Comments
A "Final Four" of March Madness Lingo
March 31, 2014
"Bae" Watch: The Ascent of a New Pet Name
March 27, 2014
- 1 Comment
"Over" Reaction: Copy Editors Gasp at AP Ruling on "Over"/"More Than"
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March 21, 2014
- 6 Comments
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RECENT COMMENTS FROM OUR SUBSCRIBERS
The Sweets of Easter
Orin Hargraves said,
"I have a friend whose sole observance of Easter each year is to stock up on Cadbury's caramel eggs. More on recurring reduplication patterns here:..."
- Friday April 18th, 8:41 AM
ThomasK said,
"Quite interesting, thanks.
As for the reduplication based on ablaut variation 'i'/'a' ('o'), so common in all kinds of languages, there is an easy..."
- Friday April 18th, 3:49 AM
The Real News About the Redesigned SAT
David D. said,
"This is a good article that strongly promotes learning while offering a critique of the ebb and flow of policy maker decisions. I like the suggestion..."
- Thursday April 17th, 11:04 AM
What Shakespeare Knew About the Rhythms of English
Michael Lydon said,
"As a songwriter today, I find many of my lines fall naturally into iambic tetrameter--four feet--and I figure that this must be because most songs are..."
- Thursday April 17th, 10:33 AM
A Powerful Debunking of Whorfian Exaggeration
Jane B. said,
"In the case of my husband, who was born in France and moved to the US as a teenager, there was a definite personality change involved when he switched..."
- Wednesday April 16th, 5:04 PM
What Shakespeare Knew About the Rhythms of English
James R. said,
"Not to be persnickety, but I read the first foot of Richard the Third as a Dactyl. That's the problem with scanning, everybody hears lines..."
- Wednesday April 16th, 11:45 AM
James Suntres said,
"You've reminded me why Shakespeare deserves our admiration. Great article!"
- Wednesday April 16th, 3:57 AM
A Powerful Debunking of Whorfian Exaggeration
patricia V. said,
"“Learn a new language and get a new soul.� -Czech proverb
As a bilingual speaker, I'm convinced that language shapes our thoughts, and though..."
- Tuesday April 15th, 2:21 PM
Strangers in Our Midst: Words We Skip While Reading
lourdes said,
"It was a reminder of a time when I kept a trove of 3x5 cards with lists of words that I need to check on a dictionary, before the onset of..."
- Monday April 14th, 2:36 PM
A Powerful Debunking of Whorfian Exaggeration
Jen M. said,
"I can't help sharing my immediate observation: the names McWhorter and Whorf share an unusual root. Just a curious coincidence, I suppose! Your review..."
- Monday April 14th, 2:17 PM
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Stage Directions: the Vocabulary of Theatrical Delivery
November 1, 2013
How can interpreting the language of stage directions enhance students' comprehension of drama?
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With the NCAA Basketball Tournament heating up, we've got an appropriately themed crossword. Solve it and you could win a Visual Thesaurus T-shirt!
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We've just released a new version of the Visual Thesaurus that works for the iPad and the iPhone, at no extra cost to subscribers. And whether you're using the VT in your Web browser, on your iPhone, or on your iPad, you'll enjoy lightning-fast load times.
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