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  1. Language Lounge

     St. Noah
    Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2006
    "American spelling is plainly better than English spelling, and in the long run it seems sure to prevail." Well, that's one man's opinion. But where did all the differences begin? We take a look back this month in the Lounge.

  2. Word Count

     Speculative Fiction
    Wed Aug 30 00:00:00 EDT 2006

    Award-winning author David Brin's celebrated works of science fiction have been translated into more than 20 languages, but his prolific writing extends to technology, science, culture and politics. He also writes about writing: He's received so many requests for advice from would-be authors that he gathered his thoughts on writing in an excellent essay available on the Internet called the A Long Lonely Road. Trained as a scientist, David's worked as a physics professor and NASA consultant in addition to creating the acclaimed Uplift book series. We called up David for a -- tad contrarian -- conversation about writing:

  3. Blog Du Jour

     Grammar Police
    Wed Aug 30 00:00:00 EDT 2006

    The following blogs aim to keep grammatical foibles in check:

    Literally, A Web Log, tracks abuse of the word "literally." You'll literally flip over the entries -- oops.

    Apostrophe Abuse, even pings the New York Times for mussing up an apostrophe.

    Groaners are overused, hackneyed phrases that ignite "a firestorm of controversy" in news writing.

    Grammar Hell, urges you to fight back against "brutal assaults" on language.

  4. Candlepower

     The Mysteries of Naming, Part 1
    Mon Aug 28 00:00:00 EDT 2006

    A name is the title of your story.

    You may think you're naming your company or your product. But in fact you're putting a title on the story you're telling investors, shareholders, customers, and employees. If you're smart and lucky, the name you choose will be the title of a great story. A saga. A legend. A tale told around the campfire for generations.

  5. Dog Eared

     Branding, Naming and... Surprise
    Mon Aug 28 00:00:00 EDT 2006

    Naming and branding expert Nancy Friedman, this week's guest contributor to our Candlepower section, sent us these book recommendations.

  6. Blog Excerpts

     Word History
    Sat Aug 26 00:00:00 EDT 2006
    The Online Etymology Dictionary explains that it is "a map of the wheel-ruts of modern English. Etymologies are not definitions; they're explanations of what our words meant and how they sounded 600 or 2,000 years ago." To learn the story of your favorite word, click here.

  7. Department of Word Lists

     Jazz Words
    Sat Aug 26 00:00:00 EDT 2006

    Stop noodling with your axe and gimme a vamp on your doghouse, can you dig it? To help translate this deliciously jazzed up sentence, drummer Brian Floody, a professional musician active in New York's jazz scene, graciously gave us this list of jazz-related words and their meanings:

    Axe Any musical instrument
    Box Guitar
    Tubs Drums
    Doghouse Upright acoustic bass
    Licorice Stick Clarinet
    Chops A dual meaning: Technique, or for horn players, the spot where the horn meets their lips.
    Woodshed Practice (see Shed)

  8. Blog Du Jour

     Lexicographer's Blogs
    Wed Aug 23 00:00:00 EDT 2006

    Word lovers, listen up: Grant Barrett, creator of the Double-Tongued Word Wrester's Dictionary and a lexicographer at the Oxford University Press, recommends these blogs on language:

    Separated by a Common Language. Lynne Murphy is an American linguist working and living in the U.K. She writes about variations between British and American English.

    Language Log. One of the smartest group blogs on any topic anywhere on the Anglophone Internet, featuring respected linguists and grammarians commenting on the mundane, arcane, and profane. A key to the blog's success is that the various posters disagree as often as they agree? meaning more than one school of thought is represented, rather than whatever is faddish or fashionable.

    Verbatim, the Language Quarterly. A neat and nifty newsletter with fun, funny, and quirky articles from a variety of authors. Edited by my Oxford University Press colleague Erin McKean.

  9. Word Count

     Telling Stories
    Wed Aug 23 00:00:00 EDT 2006

    What makes a story so compelling you can't shake it from your mind? To find out we called up veteran public radio broadcaster and award-winning storyteller Tony Kahn, a special correspondent on the news magazine The World, and the creator of Morning Stories, a weekly feature on WGBH Boston radio and web where people tell true tales in their own voice -- tales that stick.

    Tony has honed his storytelling skills by writing, producing, narrating and hosting over 50 radio and TV programs and series for PBS, NPR, Nickelodeon and others. In an interview we read on the online Transom Review, he says:

  10. Dog Eared

     Lexicographer's Library
    Mon Aug 21 00:00:00 EDT 2006

    What do wordsmiths read? Here is a trio of recommendations from Grant Barrett, creator of the Double-Tongued Word Wrester's Dictionary and a lexicographer at the Oxford University Press.

333 334 335 336 337 Displaying 3341-3350 of 3488 Results