A New York City man who grew up speaking both English and Tagalog reports an experience common to bilinguals: his behavior and emotions tend to shift when he’s speaking one language as opposed to the other. Two good books on the topic: Life...
A woman whose first language is Persian wonders about the word enduring. Can she describe the work of being a parent as enduring? While the phrase is grammatically correct, the expression enduring parenting is not good idiomatic English. This is...
Mark Twain famously said that he’d never write “metropolis” for 7 cents when he could write “city” for the same fee, and it stands as good advice for writers looking to make economical word choices. This is part of a...
The term preventive is much more common than preventative, particularly in American English, but it’s just a matter of preference. No need to get argumentative about it. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Preventive vs...
Is it okay to use the term hospitalized? A journalist says a professor taught him never to use the term because it’s unspecific and reflects laziness on the part of the writer. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
Chris in Allen, Texas, has debated a friend for 37 years about whether humongous or gargantuan refers to something larger. Usage expert Bryan Garner, who was asked the same question on Twitter, sides with gargantuan. The older word looks back to the...