The 5-Minute Linguist is a book of short, accessible essays by linguists who answer the questions they commonly hear from laypersons. For example, what’s the difference between a language and a dialect? What causes someone to have a...
If everyone on the planet spoke a single language, wouldn’t that make life a whole lot easier? For that matter, is a common world language even possible? Maybe for a minute or so—until new words and phrases start springing up. Also, did you...
A Chinese proverb says, “He who asks a question is a fool for a minute. He who does not remains a fool forever.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of ““He Who Asks a Question Is a Fool for a Minute”” You know, one of the...
Clark in Fort Worth, Texas, asks about the expression “not to mince words” after seeing it in a New York Times Paul Krugman column. To mince is “to make small,” from the same word family as diminish, miniature, and minute. Mincing onions cuts them...
telco hotel n.— «“I live in Chula Vista. For me to get to the closest data center, it’s a 45-minute drive on a typical day,” he said. And, those San Diego data centers are filling up. Most are clustered at Scranton Road in La Jolla...
worm grunting n.— «Earthworms are sensitive to low-frequency vibrations. These drive some types of earthworms to the surface, and in the southeastern US is used in a practice known as “worm grunting,” by scraping a piece of metal on...