The director of Common Voices Chorus, a women’s choir in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, seeks a word to denote what her group does when they get together to sing simply for the joy of singing and community-building, rather than working toward the...
In 1975, Annie Dillard won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction for her book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (Amazon|Bookshop). A few years later, she wrote an essay in The New York Times with advice for writers and artists, calling on them to observe...
The documentary My Beautiful Stutter follows youngsters at a summer camp run by SAY: The Stuttering Association for the Young. There young people who stutter find acceptance, support, and confidence for navigating the larger world. This is part of a...
The new book Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language is a smart, engaging, introduction to language and linguistics in general. It’s also rich with insights about how we communicate online. With verve, wit, and nerdy delight...
Should cursive handwriting be taught in schools? There are compelling arguments on both sides. A handwritten letter or note may carry additional emotional power. Also, to have a yen for something means to yearn for it. It comes from a Chinese word...
Maybe and perhaps are basically synonyms, but perhaps tends to appear in slightly more formal language. Caller Ron from northeastern Wisconsin noticed as much: he grew up saying maybe, yet he sees perhaps in print and on television. It’s not a...