Let's look at the behavior of some words in English whose primary denotation involves physical contact, physical characteristics, violent impact, and damage. How do these words behave in contexts where no physical objects are flying about?  Continue reading...

As I read Jane Austen, the question that is ever in the back of my mind is, how did she do it? Surprisingly, computers are quite helpful in discovering some of the aspects of Austen's writing that make it distinctive in the wide field of English fiction.  Continue reading...

Accurate and dependable machine translation has long been a dream among linguists and computer scientists alike. Will computers get there eventually? Possibly.  Continue reading...

Here in the Lounge, we've been thinking (not surprisingly!) about the language of the 25th Amendment.  Continue reading...

Long, cold winter nights lend themselves to absorption in a good narrative and if you're looking around for one, you could hardly do better than Frankenstein which was published on January 1, 1818.  Continue reading...

Apparently, one of the things that is making our Facebook feeds appetizing is a sauce—a combination of metrics mixed in exactly the right proportions to make this particular meal ever appealing.  Continue reading...

With the Halloween season now safely behind us for another year, I can bring to light a feature of it that has haunted me in recent weeks.  Continue reading...