For language lovers, it’s like New Year’s, Fourth of July, and the Super Bowl all rolled into one: The brand-new online edition of the Dictionary of American Regional English. Martha and Grant explain what all the fuss is about. Plus...
Language lovers, rejoice! The Dictionary of American Regional English is now available online. This massive collection of regional words and phrases across the United States requires a subscription, but 100 sample entries, including sound...
You’re in a business meeting. Is it bad manners to take out your phone to send or read a text? A new study suggests that how you feel about mid-meeting texting differs depending on your age and sex. Grant and Martha offer book recommendations...
Pat in San Diego grew up in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with a Boston-area accent that people still notice even when no obvious “r” is involved. The accent’s hallmark is non-rhoticity: after certain vowels, the “r” may be weakened, changed, or...
From the Twitter feed of @anagramatron comes this apt pair of anagrams: Annoying kids all around me anagrams to I sound like an angry old man. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Anagram Tweet” There’s somebody with...
What do your pronouns say about your own psychological makeup? If you use the word I a lot, does it mean you’re a leader . . . or a follower? A surprising study suggests that people of lower status in a group tend to use I the most. Also, a...