Topic : Language
HuffPost Live hosted a chat about the uncertain future of dictionaries in the digital era. Among the panelists was our own Ben Zimmer, who talked about how the move away from the printed page opens up exciting new possibilities for what a dictionary can do.
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Six years running, the logophiles at Wayne State University, a.k.a. the Wayne State Word Warriors, have curated a crowd-sourced list of rare words that "deserve a bit more love." These are words that used to be commonly known and are still useful, but have started to drop out of the English lexicon. Wayne State Warriors' mission? To bring them back.
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Article Topics:Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexiconA Far-Fetched Etymology That Seems a Little Cockamamie January 13, 2015 By Ben Zimmer
Etymology can take some peculiar turns as a word criss-crosses different cultures. For the latest installment of Slate's Lexicon Valley podcast, I take the hosts along on the journey of the word cockamamie, which might seem stranger than fiction.
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Article Topics:Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexiconIn a First, the Word of the Year is a Hashtag: "#blacklivesmatter" January 10, 2015 By Ben Zimmer
The American Dialect Society made its 25th annual selection for Word of the Year, and for the first time the winner was actually a Twitter hashtag: #blacklivesmatter. Even though the socially conscious slogan is formed by combining three words, as a hashtag it was converted into something linguistically innovative, attracting the attention of the assorted language scholars who gathered for the vote at the society's annual meeting in Portland, Oregon.
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Article Topics:Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexiconPresenting the Nominees for 2014 Word of the Year January 9, 2015 By Ben Zimmer
Greetings from Portland, Oregon, where the American Dialect Society is holding its annual conference. On Thursday, in my capacity as chair of the society's New Words Committee, I presided over the nominating session for various categories in our Word of the Year selection
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Article Topics:Language LoungeA Monthly Column for Word LoversPillow Talk and Its Ramifications  January 1, 2015
Scientists have long been interested in the role that genetics plays over evolutionary time in the production of genetically distinct populations in all organisms. When the organism in question is homo sapiens, there's a new twist in the tale because people need to talk, and talk accompanies nearly everything that we do, including procreation.
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Article Topics:Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexiconLooking Back on the Vortex of Words in 2014 December 22, 2014 By Ben Zimmer
It's time once again for the annual look back at the noteworthy words of the past year. Did you indulge in any manspreading or Columbusing this year? Were you concerned about dark money or plastigomerate? Here's a veritable vortex of words that rose to prominence in 2014.
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