OMG, text messaging! It’s destroying the English language, corrupting young minds, turning us into illiterates. It’s probably shrinking the ozone layer, too. Or is it? In his new book, Txting: The Gr8 Db8, David Crystal offers a...
The real problem with texting isn’t how it affects language, but what it does to social interaction. Is there anything more annoying when you’re trying to have a conversation than watching your companion’s eyes flitting to his...
hopey-changey adj.— «It’s clear from this article that “Obama Fan” is merely an almost clinically accurate descriptor. Too bad the article steps on Obama’s message at the Convention by going all hopey-changey, though...
Grant has the latest headlines from the world of language, including the debate over the name of the home of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Is Beijing pronounced bay-JING or bay-ZHING? Also, a recent court decision concerning an offense that’s...
In this episode, Martha and Grant honor winners of the Ig Nobel Prizes, those wacky awards for weird academic research, and they help a caller decipher a puzzling word from a personals ad: what does paratereseomaniac mean?
backscatter n.— «Backscatter occurs when a spammer spoofs a legitimate e-mail address to send an unsolicited message to large distribution lists, causing the e-mail server to flood an unsuspecting e-mail address owner’s mailbox with...