The Language Lounge removed to the Netherlands for a short break last month, with the specific mission of observing several of the various putative Dutch contributions to English on their native soil: Dutch courage, Dutch uncles, Dutch ovens, Dutch auctions, Dutch doors, Dutch hoes, and Dutch treats, to name a few.  Continue reading...

In high school we studied a poem by Robert Frost called "Design." It deposited enduring fragments that echo in our mind from time to time, and recently we spent a quiet afternoon in the Poetry Corner of the Lounge to revisit the poem.  Continue reading...

As a remedy for the summer doldrums, the Loungeurs have taken up deep questions this month: space, time, space-time, and language.  Continue reading...

We left off last month on the horns of the dictionary publishers' dilemma: how do you keep a flagship title in print when it costs far more to produce it than it will ever generate in sales? We noted the lure of electronic licensing rights as a factor that might influence the way dictionaries are put together and marketed in the future; and we heard from a few readers who, not unpredictably, lamented any future in which dictionaries in book form were not available.  Continue reading...

Have you browsed through a dictionary (the kind printed on paper) lately? If you have, the publishers of it are probably glad you did, while being aware that you may be part of a dying breed. This month the Lounge is the first of a two-parter examining some implications of dictionary-making in the digital age.  Continue reading...

This month in the Lounge we examine the implications of a silent but deadly usurpation of the language of the People, brought to light by an intellectual property court case.  Continue reading...

Some recent cases of American dialect creep raised hackles among readers of a British newspaper; we examine the phenomenon this month in the Lounge.  Continue reading...