Why do we speak of the red, white, and blue when discussing the American flag? Why not blue, white, and red or white, red, and blue? A couple of reasons: The color order lodged in the language thanks in part to the patriotic song from the 1840s...
Jingoism is not archaic yet, just a sharper-than-usual word for aggressive, chest-thumping nationalism. Katie in East Thetford, Vermont, had used jingoistic for a political candidate and wondered if it was merely a family word. Its history runs...
The difference between Mandarin and Cantonese points to a general difference between languages and dialects: languages tend to have a whole different nationalism or geopolitical power associated with them. For more about Mandarin and Cantonese in...
On the occasion of National Grammar Day, University of Illinois linguist Dennis Barron has pointed out some arresting posters from a wartime version from the early 20th century. They’re from a 1918 Chicago Women’s Club initiative called...
deep state n.— «Outside, thousands gathered with banners proclaiming solidarity with the dead Turkish-Armenian writer: “We are all still Hrant Dink”; “We want to see justice done.” Many Turks are convinced that a...