If you reeeeeeeeeally want to emphasize something in writing, you can engage in what linguists call expressive lengthening, or making a word longer by repeating letters. It’s an example of paralinguistic restitution — rendering in text...
What should you say to someone who is grieving the loss of a loved one? When a person is experiencing a loss like that, it matters less what you say and more that you show up in the first place. Non-verbal communication of your sympathy can be far...
Leah, a college student in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, asks: Does biweekly mean “twice a week” or “once every two weeks”? In British English, fortnightly specifies “once every two weeks.” But biweekly is...
Kendall from Boone, North Carolina, says that particularly after Kendall had a challenging day, her mother would gently ask How’s your copperosity? meaning “How are you doing?” Copperosity is a playful variation of corporosity...
The Pope has several Twitter feeds — and one of them’s entirely in Latin! But how do you adapt an ancient language to the modern world of selfies and hashtags? Plus, pit bull lovers are giving their dogs a linguistic makeover;...
In a June episode, we asked you whether you thought cursive should be taught in schools. In an age where keyboarding classes are more common, and hand-writing anything beyond a signature seems to be a rare event, is there a place for the Palmer...